/ 

LIFE 


JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 


TO  WHICH  18  APPENDED 


A  COPY  OF   HIS  LAST  WILL. 


JAMES    PARTON. 


f  efo-gorh  : 
THE:  ^nttKRic^iNr   NEWS    COM:  IP  A.  NY, 


119  and  121  Nassau  Street. 
1865. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18  65,  by 
JAMES   PARTON, 

In  the  Clcrk'8  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New-York. 


JOHN  A.  GRAY  &  GREEK, 

Stereotypers, 

16  and  18  Jacob  Street,  New-York. 


94836 

Bancroft  Library 


PREFACE. 


WE  all  feel  some  curiosity  respecting  men  who  have  been 
eminent  in  any  thing — even  in  crime;  and  as  this  curiosity 
is  natural  and  universal,  it  seems  proper  that  it  should  be 
gratified.  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR  surpassed  all  the  men  of  his 
generation  in  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  He  began  life  a 
poor,  hungry  German  boy,  and  died  worth  twenty  millions  of 
dollars.  These  facts  are  so  remarkable,  that  there  is  no  one  who 
does  riot  feel  a  desire  to  know  by  which  means  the  result  was 
produced,  and  whether  the  game  was  played  fairly.  We  all 
wish,  if  not  to  be  rich,  yet  to  have  more  money  than  we  now 
possess.  I  have  known  many  kinds  of  men,  but  never  one  who 
felt  that  he  had  quite  money  enough.  The  three  richest  men 
now  living  in  the  United  States  are  known  to  be  as  much  inter 
ested  in  the  increase  of  their  possessions,  and  try  as  hard  to 
increase  them,  as  ever  they  did. 

This  universal  desire  to  accumulate  property  is  right,  and 
necessary  to  the  progress  of  the  race.  Like  every  other  proper 
and  virtuous  desire,  it  may  become  excessive,  and  then  it  is  a 
vice.  So  long  as  a  man  seeks  propertj7"  honestly,  and  values  it 
as  the  means  of  independence,  as  the  means  of  educating  and 
comforting  his  family,  as  the  means  of  securing  a  safe,  dignified, 
and  tranquil  old  age,  as  the  means  of  private  charity  and  public 
beneficence,  let  him  bend  himself  heartily  to  his  work,  and 
enjoy  the  reward  of  his  labors.  It  is  a  fine  and  pleasant  thing 


iv  PREFACE. 

to  prosper  in  business,  and  to  have  a  store  to  fall  back  upon  in 
time  of  trouble.  Let  us  beware,  however,  of  regarding  pro 
perty  as  any  thing  but  a  means  to  important  ends. 

A  considerable  part  of  this  little  book  appeared  origi  nally  as 
an  article  in  Harper's  Magazine.  It  was  so  frequently  copied 
into  the  newspapers,  as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  public 
had  a  good  deal  of  curiosity  to  know  something  of  the  famous 
millionaire.  Hence  the  present  publication,  which  was  suggested 
by  a  worthy  member  of  the  American  News  Company,  and  to 
which  I  can  see  no  reasonable  objection.  Some  new  matter  has 
been  added,  and  a  copy  of  the  Will  of  Mr.  ASTOR  has  been 
appended  to  the  work. 

The  reader  may  learn  from  ASTOR'S  career  how  money  is 
accumulated.  Whether  he  can  learn  from  it  how  money  ought 
to  be  employed  when  it  is  obtained,  he  must  judge  for  himself. 
In  founding  the  Astor  Library,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR  did  at  least 
one  magnificent  deed,  for  which  thousands  unborn  will  honor 
his  memory.  That  single  act  would  atone  for  many  errors. 

J.  PARTON. 

NEW- YORK,  May,  1865. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 
His  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE, 18 

CHAPTER  II. 
His  FATHER  AND  BROTHERS,         . 16 

CHAPTER  III. 
His  CHILDHOOD, 19 

CHAPTER    IV. 
HE  LEAVES  HOME  AND  GOES  TO  LONDON, 23 

CHAPTER    V. 
His  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON, 27 

CHAPTER    VI. 
His  ARRIVAL  IN  AMERICA, 30 

CHAPTER    VII. 
His  FIRST  EMPLOYMENT  IN  NEW-YORK,     .....        33 


CHAPTER  Vm. 
HE  SETS  UP  FOR  HIMSELF, 88 

CHAPTER  IX. 
His  RAPID  PROGRESS  TO  WEALTH, 48 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    X. 
ANECDOTES  OF  His  CLOSENESS,     .......     52 

CHAPTER    XI. 
How  HE  BECAME  so  ENORMOUSLY  RICH,  .....        67 

CHAPTER    XII. 
ONE  OF  His  SPECULATIONS,  .        .        .  '     .....     62 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
His  GREATEST  ENTERPRISE,       .......        67 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
HE  RETIRES  FROM  BUSINESS  AND  BUILDS  TUB  ASTOR  HOUSE,       .     71 

CHAPTER    XV. 
His  VISIT  TO  EUROPE  ........      ^.76 


CHAPTER   XVI. 
His  LAST  YEARS,         .........    79 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
How  HE  DISPOSED  OF  His  PROPERTY,      .....        82 

CHAPTER   XVHI. 
THE  ASTOR  ESTATE  Now,    ........     87 


THE  WILL  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR, 90 

A  CODICIL  TO  THE  WILL  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,        .        .        .101 

SECOND  CODICIL, 106 

THIRD  CODICIL, 110 

FOURTH  CODICIL, 113 

A  FURTHER  CODICIL, .        .114 

SIXTH  CODICIL,         .        .        .        .     ' 118 

SEVENTH  CODICIL,        .        • 120 

EIGHTH  CODICIL, .        .121 


THE 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

HIS  PERSONAL    APPEARANCE. 

IN  the  hall  of  the  Astor  Library,  on  the  sides  of  two 
of  the  pillars  supporting  its  lofty  roof  of  glass,  are  two 
little  shelves,  each  holding  a  single  work,  never  taken 
down  and  seldom  perused,  but  nevertheless  well  worthy 
the  attention  of  those  who  are  curious  in  the  subject 
of  which  they  treat,  namely,  the  human  face  divine. 
They  are  two  marble  busts,  facing  each  other ;  one  of 
the  founder  of  the  Library,  the  other  of  its  first  presi 
dent,  "Washington  Irving.  A  finer  study  in  physiog 
nomy  than  these  two  busts  present  can  nowhere  be 
found ;  for  never  were  two  men  more  unlike  than 
Astor  and  Irving,  and  never  were  character  and  per 
sonal  history  more  legibly  recorded  than  in  these  por 
traits  in  marble.  The  countenance  of  the  author  is 
round,  full,  and  handsome,  the  hair  inclining  to  curl, 
and  the  chin  to  double.  It  is  the  face  of  a  happy  and 
genial  man,  formed  to  shine  at  the  fireside  and  to  beam 


14:  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

from  the  head  of  a  table.  It  is  an  open,  candid,  liberal, 
hospitable  countenance,  indicating  far  more  power  to 
please  than  to  compel,  but  displaying  in  the  position 
and  carriage  of  the  head  much  of  that  dignity  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  call  Koman.  The  face  of  the 
millionaire,  on  the  contrary,  is  all  strength ;  every 
line  in  it  tells  of  concentration  and  power.  The  hair 
is  straight  and  long ;  the  forehead  neither  lofty  nor 
ample,  but  powerfully  developed  in  the  perceptive  and 
executive  organs ;  the  eyes  deeper  set  in  the  head  than 
those  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  overhung  with  immense 
bushy  eyebrows;  the  nose  large,  long,  and  strongly 
arched,  the  veritable  nose  of  a  man-compeller ;  the 
mouth,  chin,  and  jaws  all  denoting  firmness  and  force; 
the  chest,  that  seat  and  throne  of  physical  power,  is 
broad  and  deep,  and  the  back  of  the  neck  has  some 
thing  of  the  muscular  fullness  which  we  observe  in  the 
prize-fighter  and  the  bull ;  the  head  behind  the  ears 
showing  enough  of  propelling  power,  but  almost 
totally  wanting  in  the  passional  propensities  which 
waste  the  force  of  the  faculties,  and  divert  the  man 
from  his  principal  object.  As  the  spectator  stands 
midway  between  the  two  busts,  at  some  distance  from 
both,  Irving  has  the  larger  and  the  kinglier  air,  and 
the  face  of  Astor  seems  small  and  set.  It  is  only  when 
you  get  close  to  the  bust  of  Astor,  observing  the 
strength  of  each  feature  and  its  perfect  proportion  to 
the  rest — force  everywhere,  superfluity  nowhere — that 
you  recognize  the  monarch  of  the  counting-room  ;  the 
brain  which  nothing  could  confuse  or  disconcert,  the 
purpose  that  nothing  could  divert  or  defeat ;  the  man 
who  could  with  ease  and  pleasure  grasp  and  control 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.       15 

the  multitudinous  concerns  of  a  business  that  em 
braced  the  habited  and  the  unhabited  globe  —  that 
employed  ships  in  every  sea,  and  men  in  every  clime, 
and  brought  in  to  the  coffers  of  the  merchant  the 
revenue  of  a  king.  That  speechless  bust  tells  us  how 
it  was  that  this  man,  from  suffering  in  his  father's 
poverty-stricken  house  the  habitual  pang  of  hunger, 
arrived  at  the  greatest  fortune,  perhaps,  ever  accumu 
lated  in  a  single  lifetime ;  you  perceive  that  whatever 
thing  this  strong  and  compact  man  set  himself  to  do, 
he  would  be  certain  to  achieve  unless  stopped  by 
something  as  powerful  as  a  law  of  nature. 

The  monument  of  these  two  gifted  men  is  the  airy 
and  graceful  interior  of  which  their  busts  are  the  only 
ornament.  Astor  founded  the  Library,  but  it  was 
probably  his  regard  for  Irving  that  induced  him  to 
appropriate  part  of  his  wealth  for  a  purpose  not  in 
harmony  with  his  own  humor.  Irving  is  known  to 
us  all,  as  only  wits  and  poets  are  ever  known.  But 
of  the  singular  being  who  possessed  so  remarkable  a 
genius  for  accumulation,  of  which  this  Library  is  one 
of  the  results,  little  has  been  imparted  to  the  public, 
and  of  that  little  the  greater  part  is  fabulous. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HIS  FATHER  AND  BROTHERS. 

A  HUNDRED  years  ago,  in  the  poor  little  village  of 
"Waldorf,  in  the  duchy  of  Baden,  lived  a  jovial,  good- 
for-nothing  butcher,  named  Jacob  Astor,  who  felt  him 
self  much  more  at  home  in  the  beer-house  than  at  the 
fireside  of  his  own  house  in  the  principal  street  of  the 
village.  At  the  best,  the  butcher  of  Waldorf  must 
have  been  a  poor  man ;  for,  at  that  day,  the  inhabit 
ants  of  a  German  village  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  fresh 
meat  only  on  great  days,  such  as  those  of  confirmation, 
baptism,  weddings,  and  Christmas.  The  village  itself 
was  remote  and  insignificant,  and  though  situated  in 
the  valley  of  the  Rhine,  the  native  home  of  the  vine,  a 
region  of  proverbial  fertility,  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Waldorf  was  not  a  rich  or  very  populous  country. 
The  home  of  Jacob  Astor,  therefore,  seldom  knew  any 
medium  between  excessive  abundance  and  extreme 
scarcity,  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  make  the  super 
fluity  of  to-day  provide  for  the  need  of  to-morrow; 
which  was  the  more  unfortunate  as  the  periods  of 
abundance  were  few  and  far  between,  and  the  times 
of  scarcity  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
It  was  the  custom  then  in  Germany  for  every  farmer 
to  provide  a  fatted  pig,  calf,  or  bullock  against  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       17 

time  of  harvest ;  and  as  that  joyful  season  approached 
the  village  butcher  went  the  round  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  stopping  a  day  or  two  at  each  house  to  kill  the 
animals  and  convert  their  flesh  into  bacon,  sausages,  or 
salt  beef.  During  this  happy  time  Jacob  Astor,  a 
merry  dog,  always  welcome  where  pleasure  and  hi 
larity  were  going  forward,  had  enough  to  drink,  and 
his  family  had  enough  to  eat.  But  the  merry  time 
lasted  only  six  weeks.  Then  set  in  the  season  of 
scarcity,  which  was  only  relieved  when  there  was  a 
festival  of  the  church,  a  wedding,  a  christening,  or  a 
birthday  in  some  family  of  the  village  rich  enough  to 
provide  an  animal  for  Jacob's  knife.  The  wife  of  this 
idle  and  improvident  butcher  was  such  a  wife  as  such 
men  usually  contrive  to  pick  up — industrious,  saving, 
and  capable ;  the  main-stay  of  his  house.  Often  she 
remonstrated  with  her  wasteful  and  beer-loving  hus 
band;  the  domestic  sky  was  often  overcast,  and  the 
children  were  glad  to  fly  from  the  noise  and  dust  of 
the  tempest. 

This  roistering  village  butcher  and  his  worthy, 
much-enduring  wife  were  the  parents  of  our  million 
aire.  They  had  four  sons :  George  Peter  Astor,  born 
in  1752 ;  Henry  Astor,  born  in  1754 ;  John  Melchior 
Astor,  born  in  1759  ;  and  John  Jacob  Astor,  born 
July  17,  1763.  Each  of  these  sons  made  haste  to  fly 
from  the  privations  and  contentions  of  their  home  as 
soon  as  they  were  old  enough ;  and,  what  is  more  re 
markable,  each  of  them  had  a  T?ast  of  character  pre 
cisely  the  opposite  of  their  thriftless  father.  They 
were  all  saving,  industrious,  temperate,  and  enter 
prising,  and  all  of  them  became  prosperous  men  at 


18       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

an  early  period  of  their  career.  They  were  all  duly 
instructed  in  their  father's  trade ;  each  in  turn  carried 
about  the  streets  of  Waldorf  the  basket  of  meat,  and 
accompanied  the  father  in  his  harvest  slaughtering 
tours.  Jovial  Jacob,  we  are  told,  gloried  in  being  a 
butcher,  but  three  of  his  sons,  much  to  his  disgust, 
manifested  a  repugnance  to  it,  which  was  one  of  the 
causes  of  their  flight  from  the  parental  nest.  The 
eldest,  who  was  the  first  to  go,  made  his  way  to  Lon 
don,  where  an  uncle  was  established  in  business  as  a 
maker  of  musical  instruments.  Astor  and  Broad- 
wood  was  the  name  of  the  firm,  a  house  that  still 
exists  under  the  title  of  Broadwood  and  Co.,  one  of 
the  most  noted  makers  of  pianos  in  England.  In  his 
uncle's  manufactory  George  Astor  served  an  appren 
ticeship,  and  became  at  length  a  partner  in  the  firm. 
Henry  Astor  went  next.  He  alone  of  his  father's 
sons  took  to  his  father's  trade.  It  used  to  be  thrown 
in  his  teeth,  when  he  was  a  thriving  butcher  in  the 
city  of  New-York,  that  he  had  corne  over  to  America 
as  a  private  in  the  Hessian  army.  This  may  only  have 
been  the  groundless  taunt  of  an  envious  rival.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  he  was  a  butcher  in  New- York 
when  it  was  a  British  post  during  the  revolutionary 
war,  and,  remaining  after  the  evacuation,  made  a  very 
large  fortune  in  his  business.  The  third  son,  John 
Melchior  Astor,  found  employment  in  Germany,  and 
arrived,  at  length,  at  the  profitable  post  of  steward  to 
a  nobleman's  estate. 


CHAPTER    III. 

HIS    CHILDHOOD. 


ABANDONED  thus  by  his  three  brothers,  John  Jacob 
Astor  had  to  endure  for  some  years  a  most  cheerless 
and  miserable  lot.  He  lost  his  mother,  too,  from 
whom  he  had  derived  all  that  was  good  in  his  charac 
ter  and  most  of  the  happiness  of  his  childhood.  A 
step-mother  replaced  her,  "  who  loved  not  Jacob,"  nor 
John  Jacob.  The  father,  still  devoted  to  pleasure, 
quarreled  so  bitterly  with  his  new  wife,  that  his  son 
was  often  glad  to  escape  to  the  house  of  a  school 
fellow,  (living  in  1854,)  where  he  would  pass  the  night 
in  a  garret  or  outhouse,  thankfully  accepting  for  his 
supper  a  crust  of  dry  bread,  and  returning  the  next 
morning  to  assist  in  the  slaughter-house  or  carry  out 
the  meat.  It  was  not  often  that  he  had  enough  to  eat ; 
his  clothes  were  of  the  poorest  description  ;  and,  as  to 
money,  he  absolutely  had  none  of  it.  The  unhappi- 
ness  of  his  home  and  the  misconduct  of  his  father 
made  him  ashamed  to  join  in  the  sports  of  the  village 
boys  ;  and  he  passed  much  of  his  leisure  alone,  brood 
ing  over  the  unhappiness  of  his  lot.  The  family 
increased,  but  not  its  income.  It  is  recorded  of  him 
that  he  tended  his  little  sisters  with  care  and  fond 
ness,  and  sought  in  all  ways  to  lessen  the  dislike  and 
ill-humor  of  his  step-mother. 


20  THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

It  is  not  hardship,  however,  that  enervates  a  lad. 
It  is  indulgence  and  luxury  that  do  that.  He  grew  a 
stout,  healthy,  tough,  and  patient  boy,  diligent  and 
skillful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  often  supplying 
the  place  of  his  father  absent  in  merry-making.  If,  in 
later  life,  he  overvalued  money,  it  should  not  be  for 
gotten  that  few  men  have  had  a  harder  experience 
of  the  want  of  money  at  the  age  when  character  is 
forming. 

The  bitterest  lot  has  its  alleviations.  Sometimes  a 
letter  would  reach  him  from  over  the  sea,  telling  of 
the  good  fortune  of  a  brother  in  a  distant  land.  In 
his  old  age  he  used  to  boast  that  in  his  boyhood  he 
walked  forty-five  miles  in  one  day  for  the  sole  pur 
pose  of  getting  a  letter  that  had  arrived  from  England 
or  America.  The  Astors  have  always  been  noted  for 
the  strength  of  their  family  affection.  Our  millionaire 
forgot  much  that  he  ought  to  have  remembered,  but 
he  was  not  remiss  in  fulfilling  the  obligations  of  kin 
dred. 

It  appears,  too,  that  he  was  fortunate  in  having  a 
better  schoolmaster  than  could  generally  be  found  at 
that  day  in  a  village  school  of  Germany.  Valentine 
Jeune  was  his  name,  a  French  Protestant,  whose 
parents  had  fled  from  their  country  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIY.  He  was  an  active  and  sympathetic 
teacher,  and  bestowed  unusual  pains  upon  the  boy, 
partly  because  he  pitied  his  unhappy  situation,  and 
partly  because  of  his  aptitude  to  learn.  Nevertheless 
the  school  routine  of  those  days  was  extremely  limited. 
To  read  and  write,  to  cipher  as  far  as  the  Kule  of 
Three,  to  learn  the  Catechism  by  heart,  and  to  sing 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       21 

the  Church  Hymns  "  so  that  the  windows  should  rat 
tle  " — these  were  the  sole  accomplishments  of  even  the 
best  pupils  of  Yalentine  Jeune.  Baden  was  then  under 
the  rule  of  a  Catholic  family.  It  was  a  saying  in  Wal 
dorf  that  no  man  could  be  appointed  a  swine-herd  who 
was  not  a  Catholic,  and  that  if  a  mayoralty  were 
vacant  the  swine-herd  must  have  the  place  if  there 
were  no  other  Catholic  in  the  town.  Hence  it  was 
that  the  line  which  separated  the  Protestant  minority 
from  the  Catholic  majority  was  sharply  denned,  and 
the  Protestant  children  were  the  more  thoroughly  in 
doctrinated.  Rev.  John  Philip  Steiner,  the  Protest 
ant  pastor  of  Waldorf,  a  learned  and  faithful  minis 
ter,  was  as  punctilious  in  requiring  from  the  children 
the  thorough  learning  of  the  Catechism  as  a  German 
sergeant  was  in  exacting  all  the  niceties  of  the  parade. 
Young  Astor  became,  therefore,  a  very  decided  Pro 
testant  ;  he  lived  and  died  a  member  of  the  Church  in 
which  he  was  born. 

The  great  day  in  the  life  of  a  German  child  is  that 
of  his  confirmation,  which  usually  occurs  in  his  four 
teenth  year.  The  ceremony,  which  was  performed  at 
Waldorf  every  two  years,  was  a  festival  at  once  solemn 
and  joyous.  The  children,  long  prepared  beforehand 
by  the  joint  labors  of  minister,  schoolmaster,  and 
parents,  walk  in  procession  to  the  church,  the  girls  in 
white,  the  boys  in  their  best  clothes,  and  there,  after 
the  requisite  examinations,  the  rite  is  performed,  and 
the  Sacrament  is  administered.  The  day  concludes 
with  festivity.  Confirmation  also  is  the  point  of 
division  between  childhood  and  youth  —  between 
absolute  dependence  and  the  beginning  of  responsi- 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

bility.  After  confirmation,  the  boys  of  a  German 
peasant  take  their  place  in  life  as  apprentices  or  as 
servants;  and  the  girls,  unless  their  services  are  re 
quired  at  home,  are  placed  in  situations.  Childhood 
ends,  maturity  begins,  when  the  child  has  tasted  for 
the  first  time  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  communion. 
Whether  a  boy  then  becomes  an  apprentice  or  a  serv 
ant  depends  upon  whether  his  parents  have  been  pro 
vident  enough  to  save  a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to 
pay  the  usual  premium  required  by  a  master  as  com 
pensation  for  his  trouble  in  teaching  his  trade.  This 
premium  varied  at  that  day  from  fifty  dollars  to  two 
hundred,  according  to  the  difficulty  and  respectability 
of  the  vocation.  A  carpenter  or  a  blacksmith  might 
be  satisfied  with  a  premium  of  sixty  or  seventy  dollars, 
while  a  cabinet-maker  would  demand  a  hundred,  and 
a  musical-instrument  maker  or  a  clock-maker  two  hun 
dred. 

On  Palm  Sunday,  1777,  when  he  was  about  four 
teen  years  of  age,  John  Jacob  Astor  was  confirmed. 
He  then  consulted  his  father  upon  his  future.  Money 
to  apprentice  him  there  was  none  in  the  paternal  cof 
fers.  The  trade  of  butcher  he  knew  and  disliked. 
Nor  was  he  inclined  to  accept  as  his  destiny  for  life 
the  condition  of  servant  or  laborer.  The  father,  who 
thought  the  occupation  of  butcher  one  of  the  best  in 
the  world,  and  who  needed  the  help  of  his  son,  par 
ticularly  in  the  approaching  season  of  harvest,  paid  no 
heed  to  the  entreaties  of  the  lad,  who  saw  himself  con 
demned  without  hope  to  a  business  which  he  loathed, 
and  to  labor  at  it  without  reward. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HE  LEAYES  HOME  AND  GOES  TO   LONDON. 

A  DEEP  discontent  settled  upon  him.  The  tidings 
of  the  good  fortune  of  his  brothers  inflamed  his  desire 
to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  world.  The  news  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  which  drew  all  eyes  upon  Ame 
rica,  and  in  which  the  people  of  all  lands  sympathiz 
ed  with  the  struggling  colonies,  had  its  effect  upon 
him.  He  began  to  long  for  the  "New  Land,"  as  the 
Germans  then  styled  America ;  and  it  is  believed  in 
"Waldorf  that  soon  after  the  capture  of  Burgoyne  had 
spread  abroad  a  confidence  in  the  final  success  of  the 
colonists,  the  youth  formed  the  secret  determination 
to  emigrate  to  America.  Nevertheless,  he  had  to  wait 
three  miserable  years  longer,  until  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  made  it  certain  that  America  was  to  be 
free,  before  he  was  able  to  enter  upon  the  gratification 
of  his  desire. 

In  getting  to  America,  he  displayed  the  same  saga 
city  in  adapting  means  to  ends  that  distinguished  him 
during  his  business  career  in  New- York.  Money  he 
had  never  had  in  his  life,  beyond  a  few  silver  coins  of 
the  smallest  denomination.  His  father  had  none  to 
give  him,  even  if  he  had  been  inclined  to  do  so.  It 
was  only  when  the  lad  was  evidently  resolved  to  go 


24  THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN   JACOB  ASTOR. 

that  he  gave  a  slow,  reluctant  consent  to  his  departure. 
Waldorf  is  nearly  three  hundred  miles  from  the  sea 
port  in  Holland  most  convenient  for  his  purpose.  De 
spite  the  difficulties,  this  penniless  youth  formed  the 
resolution  of  going  down  the  Khine  to  Holland,  there 
taking  ship  for  London,  where  he  would  join  his  bro 
ther,  and,  while  earning  money  for  his  passage  to 
America,  learn  the  language  of  the  country  to  which 
he  was  destined.  It  appears  that  he  dreaded  more 
the  difficulties  of  the  English  tongue  than  he  did  those 
of  the  long  and  expensive  journey ;  but  he  was  re 
solved  not  to  sail  for  America  until  he  had  acquired 
the  language,  and  saved  a  little  money  beyond  the  ex 
penses  of  the  voyage.  It  appears,  also,  that  there  pre 
vailed  in  Baden  the  belief  that  Americans  were  exceed 
ingly  selfish  and  inhospitable,  and  regarded  the  poor 
emigrant  only  in  the  light  of  prey.  John  Jacob  was 
determined  not  to  land  among  such  a  people  without 
the  means  of  understanding  their  tricks  and  paying  his 
way.  In  all  ways,  too,  he  endeavored  to  get  a  know 
ledge  of  the  country  to  which  he  was  going. 

With  a  small  bundle  of  clothes  hung  over  his  shoul 
der  upon  a  stick,  with  a  crown  or  two  in  his  pocket, 
he  said  the  last  farewell  to  his  father  and  his  friends, 
and  set  out  on  foot  for  the  Rhine,  a  few  miles  distant. 
Valentine  Jeune,  his  old  schoolmaster,  said,  as  the  lad 
was  lost  to  view :  "I  am  not  afraid  of  Jacob  ;  he'll  get 
through  the  world.  He  has  a  clear  head  and  every 
thing  right  behind  the  ears."  He  was  then  a  stout, 
strong  lad  of  nearly  seventeen,  exceedingly  well  made, 
though  slightly  undersized,  and  he  had  a  clear,  com 
posed,  intelligent  look  in  the  eyes,  which  seemed  to 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB.       25 

ratify  the  prediction  of  the  schoolmaster.  He  strode 
manfully  out  of  town,  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  a  sob 
in  his  throat — for  he  loved  his  father,  his  friends,  and 
his  native  village,  though  his  lot  there  had  been  for 
lorn  enough.  While  still  in  sight  of  Waldorf,  he  sat 
down  under  a  tree  and  thought  of  the  future  before 
him  and  the  friends  he  had  left.  He  there,  as  he  used 
to  relate  in  after-life,  made  three  resolutions  :  to  be 
honest,  to  be  industrious,  and  not  to  gamble — excel 
lent  resolutions,  as  far  as  they  go.  Having  sat  awhile 
under  the  tree,  he  took  up  his  bundle  and  resumed  his 
journey  with  better  heart. 

It  was  by  no  means  the  intention  of  this  sagacious 
youth  to  walk  all  the  way  to  the  sea-coast.  There 
was  a  much  more  convenient  way  at  that  time  of  ac 
complishing  the  distance,  even  to  a  young  man  with 
only  two  dollars  in  his  pocket.  The  Black  Forest  is 
partly  in  Astor's  native  Baden.  The  rafts  of  timber 
cut  in  the  Black  Forest,  instead  of  floating  down  the 
Ehine  in  the  manner  practiced  in  America,  used  to  be 
rowed  by  sixty  or  eighty  men  each,  who  were  paid 
high  wages,  as  the  labor  was  severe.  Large  numbers 
of  stalwart  emigrants  availed  themselves  of  this  mode 
of  getting  from  the  interior  to  the  sea-coast,  by  which 
they  earned  their  subsistence  on  the  way  and  about 
ten  dollars  in  money.  The  tradition  in  Waldorf  is, 
that  young  Astor  worked  his  passage  down  the  Ehine, 
and  earned  his  passage-money  to  England  as  an  oars 
man  on  one  of  these  rafts.  Hard  as  the  labor  was,  the 
oarsmen  had  a  merry  time  of  it,  cheering  their  toil 
with  jest  and  song  by  night  and  day.  On  the  four 
teenth  day  after  leaving  home,  our  youth  found  him- 
2 


26       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB. 

self  at  a  Dutch  seaport,  with  a  larger  sum  of  money 
than  he  had  ever  before  possessed.  He  took  passage 
for  London,  where  he  landed  a  few  days  after,  in  total 
ignorance  of  the  place  and  the  language.  His  brother 
welcomed  him  with  German  warmth,  and  assisted  him 
to  procure  employment — probably  in  the  flute  and 
piano  manufactory  of  Astor  and  Broadwood. 

As  the  foregoing  brief  account  of  the  early  life  of 
John  Jacob  Astor  differs  essentially  from  any  pre 
viously  published  in  the  United  States,  it  is  proper 
that  the  reader  should  be  informed  of  the  sources 
whence  we  have  derived  information  so  novel  and  un 
expected.  The  principal  source  is  a  small  biography 
of  Astor  published  in  Germany  about  ten  years  ago, 
written  by  a  native  of  Baden,  a  Lutheran  clergyman, 
who  gathered  his  material  in  Waldorf,  where  were  then 
living  a  few  aged  persons  who  remembered  Astor  when 
he  was  a  sad  and  solitary  lad  in  his  father's  disorderly 
house.  The  statements  of  this  little  book  are  confirm 
ed  by  what  some  of  the  surviving  friends  and  descend 
ants  of  Mr.  Astor  in  New- York  remember  of  his  own 
conversation  respecting  his  early  days.  He  seldom 
"spoke  of  his  life  in  Germany,  though  he  remembered 
his  native  place  with  fondness,  revisited  it  in  the  time 
of  his  prosperity,  pensioned  his  father,  and  forgot  not 
Walford  in  his  will ;  but  the  little  that  he  did  say  of 
his  youthful  years  accords  with  the  curious  narrative 
in  the  work  to  which  we  have  alluded.  "We  believe 
the  reader  may  rely  on  our  story  as  being  essentially 
true. 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

HIS  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON. 

ASTOR,  brought  to  London,  according  to  our  quaint 
Lutheran,  "  a  pious,  true,  and  godly  spirit,  a  clear  un 
derstanding,  a  sound  youthful  elbow-grease,  and  the 
wish  to  put  it  to  good  use."  During  the  two  years  of 
his  residence  in  the  British  metropolis,  he  strove  most 
assiduously  for  three  objects :  1,  To  save  money ;  2, 
to  acquire  the  English  language;  3,  to  get  informa 
tion  respecting  America.  Much  to  his  relief  and  grati 
fication,  he  found  the  acquisition  of  the  language  to  be 
the  least  of  his  difficulties.  "Working  in  a  shop  with 
English  mechanics,  and  having  few  German  friends,  he 
was  generally  dependent  upon  the  language  of  the  coun 
try  for  the  communication  of  his  desires  ;  and  he  was  as 
much  surprised  as  delighted  to  find  how  many  points 
of  similarity  there  were  between  the  two  languages. 
In  about  six  weeks,  he  used  to  say,  he  could  make 
himself  understood  a  little  in  English,  and  long  before 
he  left  London  he  could  speak  it  fluently.  He  never 
learned  to  write  English  correctly  in  his  life,  nor  could 
he  ever  speak  it  without  a  decided  German  accent ; 
but  he  could  always  express  his  meaning  with  simpli 
city  and  force,  both  orally  and  in  writing.  Trustwor 
thy  information  respecting  America,  in  the  absence  of 


28  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

maps,  gazetteers,  and  books  of  travel,  was  more  diffi 
cult  to  procure.  The  ordinary  Englishman  of  that  day 
regarded  America  with  horror  or  contempt  as  perverse 
and  rebellious  colonies,  making  a  great  to-do  about  a 
paltry  tax,  and  giving  "  the  best  of  kings  "  a  world  of 
trouble  for  nothing.  He  probably  heard  little  of  the 
thundering  eloquence  with  which  Fox,  Pitt,  Burke, 
and  Sheridan  were  nightly  defending  the  American 
cause  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  assailing  the  in 
fatuation  of  the  Government  in  prosecuting  a  hopeless 
war.  As  often,  however,  as  our  youth  met  with  any 
one  who  had  been  in  America,  he  plied  him  with  ques 
tions,  and  occasionally  he  heard  from  his  brother  in 
New- York.  Henry  Astor  was  already  established  as 
a  butcher  on  his  own  account,  wheeling  home  in  a 
wheel -barrow  from  Bull's  Head  his  slender  purchases 
of  sheep  and  calves.  But  the  great  difficulty  of  John 
Jacob  in  London  was  the  accumulation  of  money. 
Having  no  trade,  his  wages  were  necessarily  small. 
Though  he  rose  with  the  lark,  and  was  at  work  as 
early  as  five  in  the  morning — though  he  labored  with 
all  his  might,  and  saved  every  farthing  that  he  could 
spare — it  was  two  years  before  he  had  saved  enough 
for  his  purpose.  In  September,  1783,  he  possessed  a 
good  suit  of  Sunday  clothes,  in  the  English  style,  and 
about  fifteen  English  guineas — the  total  result  of  two 
years  of  unremitting  toil  and  most  pinching  economy; 
and  here  again  charity  requires  the  remark  that  if 
Astor  the  millionaire  carried  the  virtue  of  economy 
to  an  extreme,  it  was  Astor  the  struggling  youth  in  a 
strange  land  who  learned  the  value  of  money. 

In  that  month  of  September,  1783,  the  news  reached 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.       29 

London  that  Dr.  Franklin  and  his  associates  in  Paris 
after  two  years  of  negotiation,  had  signed  the  defini 
tive  treaty  which  completed  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  Franklin  had  been  in  the  habit  of  pre 
dicting  that  as  soon  as  America  had  become  an  inde 
pendent  nation,  the  best  blood  in  Europe,  and  some  of 
the  finest  fortunes,  would  hasten  to  seek  a  career  or  an 
asylum  in  the  New  World.  Perhaps  he  would  have 
hardly  recognized  the  emigration  of  this  poor  German 
youth  as  part  of  the  fulfillment  of  his  prophecy.  Nev 
ertheless  the  news  of  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  had 
no  sooner  reached  England  than  young  Astor,  then 
twenty  years  old,  began  to  prepare  for  his  departure 
for  the  "  New  Land/'  and  in  November  he  embarked 
for  Baltimore.  He  paid  five  of  his  guineas  for  a  pass 
age  in  the  steerage,  which  entitled  him  to  sailors'  fare 
of  salt  beef  and  biscuit.  He  invested  part  of  his  re 
maining  capital  in  seven  flutes,  and  carried  the  rest, 
about  five  pounds  sterling,  in  the  form  of  money. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

HIS   AEKIVAL   IN  AMEEICA. 

AMERICA  gave  a  cold  welcome  to  the  young  emi 
grant.  The  winter  of  1783-4  was  one  of  the  celebrated 
severe  winters  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean.  November 
gales  and  December  storms  wreaked  all  their  fury  upon 
the  ship,  retarding  its  progress  so  long  that 'January 
arrived  before  she  had  reached  Chesapeake  Bay.  Float 
ing  ice  filled  the  bay  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and 
a  January  storm  drove  the  ship  among  the  masses 
with  such  force,  that  she  was  in  danger  of  being 
broken  to  pieces.  It  was  on  one  of  those  days  of 
peril  and  consternation  that  young  Astor  appeared  on 
deck  in  his  best  clothes,  and  on  being  asked  the  reason 
of  this  strange  proceeding,  said  that  if  he  escaped  with 
life  he  should  save  his  best  clothes,  and  if  he  lost  it  his 
clothes  would  be  of  no  further  use  to  him.  Tradition 
further  reports  that  he,  a  steerage  passenger,  ventured 
one  day  to  come  upon  the  quarter-deck,  when  the  cap 
tain  roughly  ordered  him  forward.  Tradition  adds 
that  that  very  captain,  twenty  years  after,  commanded 
a  ship  owned  by  the  steerage  passenger.  When  the 
ship  was  within  a  day's  sail  of  her  port  the  wind  died 
away,  the  cold  increased,  and  the  next  morning  beheld 
the  vessel  hard  and  fast  in  a  sea  of  ice.  For  two  whole 


THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  31 

months  she  remained  immovable.  Provisions  gave 
out.  The  passengers  were  only  relieved  when  the  ice 
extended  to  the  shore,  and  became  strong  enough  to 
afford  communication  with  other  ships  and  with  the 
coasts  of  the  bay.  Some  of  the  passengers  made  their 
way  to  the  shore,  and  traveled  by  land  to  their  homes, 
but  this  resource  was  not  within  the  means  of  our 
young  adventurer,  and  he  was  obliged  to  stick  to  the 
ship. 

Fortune  is  an  obsequious  jade  that  favors  the  strong 
and  turns  her  back  upon  the  weak.  This  exasperating 
delay  of  two  months  was  the  means  of  putting  young 
Astor  upon  the  shortest  and  easiest  road  to  fortune 
that  the  continent  of  America  then  afforded  to  a  poor 
man.  Among  his  fellow-passengers  there  was  one 
German,  with  whom  he  made  acquaintance  on  the 
voyage,  and  with  whom  he  continually  associated  dur 
ing  the  detention  of  the  winter.  They  told  each  other 
their  past  history,  their  present  plans,  their  future 
hopes.  The  stranger  informed  young  Astor  that  he 
too  had  emigrated  to  America,  a  few  years  before, 
without  friends  or  money  ;  that  he  had  soon  managed 
to  get  into  the  business  of  buying  furs  of  the  Indians, 
and  of  the  boatmen  coming  to  New- York  from  the 
river  settlements ;  that  at  length  he  had  embarked  all 
his  capital  in  skins,  and  had  taken  them  himself  to 
England  in  a  returning  transport,  where  he  had  sold 
them  to  great  advantage,  and  had  invested  the  pro 
ceeds  in  toys  and  trinkets,  with  which  to  continue  his 
trade  in  the  wilderness.  He  strongly  advised  Astor  to 
follow  his  example.  He  told  him  the  prices  of  the 
various  skins  in  America,  and  the  prices  they  com- 


32       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

manded  in  London.  With  German  friendliness  he 
imparted  to  him  the  secrets  of  the  craft:  told  him 
where  to  buy,  how  to  pack,  transport,  and  preserve 
the  skins ;  the  names  of  the  principal  dealers  in  New- 
York,  Montreal,  and  London ;  and  the  season  of  the 
year  when  the  skins  were  most  abundant.  All  this 
was  interesting  to  the  young  man  ;  but  he  asked  his 
friend  how  it  was  possible  to  begin  such  a  business 
without  capital.  The  stranger  told  him  that  no  great 
capital  was  required  for  a  beginning.  With  a  basket 
of  toys,  or  even  of  cakes,  he  said,  a  man  could  buy 
valuable  skins  on  the  wharves  and  in  the  markets  of 
New-York,  which  could  be  sold  with  some  profit  to 
New- York  furriers.  But  the  grand  object  was  to 
establish  a  connection  with  a  house  in  London,  where 
furs  brought  four  or  five  times  their  value  in  America. 
In  short,  John  Jacob  Astor  determined  to  lose  no  time 
after  reaching  New- York,  in.  trying  his  hand  at  this 
profitable  traffic. 

The  ice  broke  up  in  March.  The  ship  made  its 
way  to  Baltimore,  and  the  two  friends  traveled  to 
gether  to  New- York.  The  detention  in  the  ice  and 
the  journey  to  New- York  almost  exhausted  Astor's 
purse.  He  arrived  in  this  city,  where  now  his  estate 
is  valued  at  forty  millions,  with  little  more  than  his 
seven  German  flutes,  and  a  long  German  head  full  of 
available  knowledge  and  quiet  determination.  He 
went  straight  to  the  humble  abode  of  his  brother 
Henry,  a  kindly,  generous,  jovial  soul,  who  gave  him 
a  truly  fraternal  welcome,  and  received  with  hospita 
ble  warmth  the  companion  of  his  voyage. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HIS  FIRST  EMPLOYMENT  IN  NEW- YORK. 

HENRY  ASTOR'S  prosperity  had  been  temporarily 
checked  by  the  evacuation  of  New- York,  which  had 
occurred  five  months  before,  and  which  had  deprived 
the  tradesmen  of  the  city  of  their  best  customers.  It 
was  not  only  the  British  army  that  had  left  the  city  in 
November,  1783,  but  a  host  of  British  officials  and  old 
Tory  families  as  well;  while  the  new-comers  were 
Whigs,  whom  seven  years  of  war  had  impoverished, 
and  young  adventurers  who  had  still  their  career  to 
make.  During  the  Revolution,  Henry  Astor  had 
speculated  occasionally  in  cattle  captured  from  the 
farmers  of  Westchester,  which  were  sold  at  auction  at 
Bull's  Head,  and  he  had  advanced  from  a  wheel-bar 
row  to  the  ownership  of  a  horse.  An  advertisement 
informs  us  that,  about  the  time  of  his  brother's  arri 
val,  this  horse  was  stolen,  with  saddle  and  bridle,  and 
that  the  owner  offered  three  guineas  reward  for  the 
recovery  of  the  property ;  but  that  •"  for  the  thief, 
horse,  saddle,  and  bridle,  ten  guineas  would  be  paid." 
A  month  after,  we  find  him  becoming  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  soon  he  began  to  share  in  the  re 
turning  prosperity  of  the  city. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  he  could  do  little  for 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK. 

his  new-ibund  brother.  During  the  first  evening  of 
his  brother's  stay  at  his  house  the  question  was  dis 
cussed,  What  should  the  young  man  do  in  his  new 
country  ?  The  charms  of  the  fur  business  were  duly 
portrayed  by  the  friend  of  the  youth,  who  also  ex 
pressed  his  preference  for  it.  It  was  agreed,  at  length, 
that  the  best  plan  would  be  for  the  young  man  to  seek 
employment  with  some  one  already  in  the  business,  in 
order  to  learn  the  modes  of  proceeding,  as  well  as  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  country.  The  young 
stranger  anxiously  inquired  how  much  premium 
would  be  demanded  by  a  furrier  for  teaching  the 
business  to  a  novice,  and  he  was  at  once  astonished 
and  relieved  to  learn  that  no  such  thing  was  known  in 
America,  and  that  he  might  expect  his  board  and 
small  wages  even  from  the  start.  So,  the  next  day, 
the  brothers  and  their  friend  proceeded  together  to 
the  store  of  Robert  Bowne,  an  aged  and  benevolent 
Quaker,  long  established  in  the  business  of  buying, 
curing,  and  exporting  peltries.  It  chanced  that  he 
needed  a  hand.  Pleased  with  the  appearance  and  de 
meanor  of  the  young  man,  he  employed  him  (as  tra 
dition  reports)  at  two  dollars  a  week  and  his  board. 
Astor  took  up  his  abode  in  his  master's  house,  and  was 
soon  at  work.  "We  can  tell  the  reader  with  certainty 
what  was  the  nature  of  the  youth's  first  day's  work  in 
his  adopted  country  ;  for,  in  his  old  age,  he  was  often 
heard  to  say  that  the  first  thing  he  did  for  Mr.  Bowne 
was  to  beat  furs ;  which,  indeed,  was  his  principal 
employment  during  the  whole  of  the  following  sum 
mer — furs  requiring  to  be  frequently  beaten  to  keep 
the  moths  from  destroying  them. 


THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN"  JACOB  ASTOK.  35 

Perhaps  among  our  young  readers  there  are  some 
who  have  formed  the  resolution  to  get  on  in  the  world 
and  become  rich.  "We  advise  such  to  observe  how 
young  Astor  proceeded.  We  are  far  from  desiring  to 
hold  up  this  able  man  as  a  model  for  the  young ;  yet 
it  must  be  owned  that  in  the  art  of  prospering  in  busi 
ness  he  has  had  no  equal  in  America ;  and  in  that  his 
example  may  be  useful.  Now,  observe  the  secret.  It 
was  not  plodding  merely,  though  no  man  ever  labored 
more  steadily  than  he.  Mr.  Bowne,  discovering  what 
a  prize  he  had,  raised  his  wages  at  the  end  of  the  first 
month.  Nor  was  it  merely  his  strict  observance  of  the 
rules  of  temperance  and  morality,  though  that  is  essen 
tial  to  any  worthy  success.  The  great  secret  of  Astor's 
early^  rapid,  and  uniform  success  in  business  appears 
to  have  been,  that  he  acted  always  upon  the  maxim 
that  KNOWLEDGE  is  POWER!  He  labored  unceasingly 
at  Mr.  Bowne's  to  learn  the  business.  He  put  all  his 
soul  into  the  work  of  getting  a  knowledge  of  furs,  fur- 
bearing  animals,  fur-dealers,  fur- markets,  fur-gathering 
Indians,  fur- abounding  countries.  In  those  days  a  con 
siderable  number  of  bear  skins  and  beaver  skins  were 
brought  directly  to  Bowne's  store  by  the  Indians  and 
countrymen  of  the  vicinity,  who  had  shot  or  trapped 
the  animals.  These  men  Astor  questioned ;  and  neg 
lected  no  other  opportunity  of  procuring  the  informa 
tion  he  desired.  It  used  to  be  observed  of  Astor  that 
he  absolutely  loved  a  fine  skin.  In  later  days  he 
would  have  a  superior  fur  hung  up  in  his  counting- 
room  as  other  men  hang  pictures  ;  and  this,  apparently, 
for  the  mere  pleasure  of  feeling,  showing,  and  admiring 
it.  He  would  pass  his  hand  fondly  over  it,  extolling 


36       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

its  charms  with  an  approach  to  enthusiasm  ;  not,  how 
ever,  forgetting  to  mention  that  in  Canton  it  would 
bring  him  in  five  hundred  dollars.  So  heartily  did 
he  throw  himself  into  his  business. 

Growing  rapidly  in  the  confidence  of  his  employer, 
he  was  soon  intrusted  with  more  important  duties  than 
the  beating  'of  furs.  He  was  employed  in  buying  them 
from  the  Indians  and  hunters  who  brought  them  to 
the  city.  Soon,  too,  he  took  the  place  of  his  employer 
in  the  annual  journey  to  Montreal,  then  the  chief  fur 
mart  of  the  country.  With  a  pack  upon  his  back,  he 
struck  into  the  wilderness  above  Albany,  and  walked 
to  Lake  George,  which  he  ascended  in  a  canoe,  and 
having  thus  reached  Champlain  he  embarked  again, 
and  sailed  to  the  head  of  that  lake.  Returning  with 
his  furs,  he  employed  the  Indians  in  transporting  them 
to  the  Hudson,  and  brought  them  to  the  city  in  a 
sloop.  He  was  formed  by  nature  for  a  life  like  this. 
His  frame  was  capable  of  great  endurance,  and  he  had 
the  knack  of  getting  the  best  of  a  bargain.  The 
Indian  is  a  great  bargainer.  The  time  was  gone  by 
when  a  nail  or  a  little  red  paint  would  induce  him  to 
part  with  valuable  peltries.  It  required  skill  and  ad 
dress  on  the  part  of  the  trader,  both  in  selecting  the 
articles  likely  to  tempt  the  vanity  or  the  cupidity  of 
the  red  man,  and  in  conducting  the  tedious  negotiation 
which  usually  preceded  an  exchange  of  commodities. 
It  was  in  this  kind  of  traffic,  doubtless,  that  our  young 
German  acquired  that  unconquerable  propensity  for 
making  hard  bargains,  which  was  so  marked  a  feature 
in  his  character  as  a  merchant.  He  could  never  rise 
superior  to  this  early-acquired  habit.  He  never  knew 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.       87 

what  it  was  to  exchange  places  with  the  opposite  party, 
and  survey  a  transaction  from  his  point  of  view.  He 
exulted  not  in  compensating  liberal  service  liberally. 
In  all  transactions  he  kept  in  view  the  simple  object 
of  giving  the  least  and  getting  the  most. 

Meanwhile  his  brother  Henry  was  flourishing.  He 
married  the  beautiful  daughter  of  a  brother  butcher? 
and  the  young  wife,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the 
time,  disdained  not.  to  assist  her  husband  even  in  the 
slaughter-house  as  well  as  in  the  market-place.  Colonel 
Devoe,  in  his  well-known  Market  Book,  informs  us 
that  Henry  Astor  was  exceedingly  proud  of  his  pretty 
wife,  often  bringing  her  home  presents  of  gay  dresses 
and  ribbons,  and  speaking  of  her  as  "  de  pink  of  de 
Bowery."  The  butchers  of  that  day  complained  bit 
terly  of  him,  because  he  used  to  ride  out  of  town 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  and  buy  up  the  droves  of  cat 
tle  coming  to  the  city,  which  he  would  drive  in  and 
sell  at  an  advanced  price  to  the  less  enterprising 
butchers.  He  gained  a  fortune  by  his  business,  which 
would  have  been  thought  immense  if  the  colossal 
wealth  of  his  brother  had  not  reduced  all  other  estates 
to  comparative  insignificance.  It  was  he  who  bought, 
for  eight  hundred  dollars,  the  acre  of  ground,  on  part 
of  which  the  old  Bowery  Theatre  now  stands. 


CHAPTER  YIH 

HE  SETS   UP  FOR  HIMSELF. 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB  remained  not  long  in  the  em 
ployment  of  Robert  Bowne.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of 
the  business  of  a  furrier  at  that  day,  that,  while  it  ad 
mitted  of  unlimited  extension,  it  could  be  begun  on 
the  smallest  scale,  with  a  very  insignificant  capital. 
Every  farmer's  boy  in  the  vicinity  of  New-York  had 
occasionally  a  skin  to  sell,  and  bears  abounded  in  the 
Catskill  Mountains.  Indeed  the  time  had  not  long 
gone  by  when  beaver  skins  formed  part  of  the  currency 
of  the  city.  All  Northern  and  Western  New- York 
was  still  a  fur-yielding  country.  Even  Long  Island 
furnished  its  quota.  So  that,  while  the  fur  business 
was  one  that  rewarded  the  enterprise  of  great  and 
wealthy  companies,  employing  thousands  of  men  and 
fleets  of  ships,  it  afforded  an  opening  to  young  Astor, 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  his  brother,  could  command 
a  capital  of  only  a  very  few  hundred  dollars.  In  a 
little  shop  in  Water  street,  with  a  back-room,  a  yard, 
and  a  shed,  the  shop  furnished  with  only  a  few  toys 
and  trinkets,  Astor  began  business  about  the  year  1786. 
He  had  then,  as  always,  the  most  unbounded  confi 
dence  in  his  own  abilities.  He  used  to  relate  that,  at 
this  time,  a  new  row  of  houses  in  Broadway  was  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  39 

talk  of  the  city  from  their  magnitude  and  beauty. 
Passing  them  one  day,  he  said  to  himself:  "  I'll  build 
sometime  or  other  a  greater  house  than  any  of  these, 
and  in  this  very  street."  He  used  also  to  say,  in  his 
old  age,  "The  first  hundred  thousand  dollars — that 
was  hard  to  get ;  but  afterward  it  was  easy  to  make 
more." 

Having  set  up  for  himself,  he  worked  with  the  quiet, 
indomitable  ardor  of  a  German  who  sees  clearly  his  way 
open  before  him.  At  first  he  did  every  thing  for  him 
self.  He  bought,  cured,  beat,  packed,  and  sold  his 
skins.  From  dawn  till  dark,  he  assiduously  labored. 
At  the  proper  seasons  of  the  year,  with  his  pack  on  his 
back,  he  made  short  excursions  into  the  country,  col 
lecting  skins  from  house  to  house,  gradually  extending 
the  area  of  his  travels,  till  he  knew  the  State  of  New- 
York  as  no  man  of  his  clay  knew  it.  He  used  to 
boast,  late  in  life,  when  the  Erie  Canal  had  called  into 
being  a  line  of  thriving  towns  through  the  center  of 
the  State,  that  he  had  himself,  in  his  numberless 
tramps,  designated  the  sites  of  those  towns,  and  pre 
dicted  that  one  day  they  would  be  the  centers  of  busi 
ness  and  population.  Particularly  he  noted  the  spots 
where  Eochester  and  Buffalo  now  stand,  one  having  a 
b arbor  on  Lake  Erie,  the  other  upon  Lake  Ontario. 
Those  places,  he  predicted,  would  one  day  be  large  and 
prosperous  cities,  and  that  prediction  he  made  when 
there  was  scarcely  a  settlement  at  Buffalo  and  only 
wigwams  on  the  site  of  Eochester.  At  this  time  he 
had  a  partner  who  usually  remained  in  the  city,  while 
the  agile  and  enduring  Astor  traversed  the  wilderness. 

It  was  his  first  voyage  to  London  that  established 


40  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

his  business  on  a  solid  foundation.  As  soon  as  he  had 
accumulated  a  few  bales  of  the  skins  suited  to  the  Eu 
ropean  market,  he  took  passage  in  the  steerage  of  a 
ship  and  conveyed  them  to  London.  He  sold  them 
to  great  advantage,  and  established  connections  with 
houses  to  which  he  could  in  future  consign  his  furs, 
and  from  which  he  could  procure  the  articles  best 
adapted  to  the  taste  of  Indians  and  hunters.  But  his 
most  important  operation  in  London  was  to  make  an 
arrangement  with  the  firm  of  Astor  &  Broadwood, 
by  which  he  became  the  New- York  agent  for  the  sale 
of  their  pianos,  flutes,  and  violins.  He  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  first  man  in  New-York  who  kept  con 
stantly  for  sale  a  supply  of  musical  merchandise,  of 
which  the  annual  sale  in  New-York  is  now  reckoned 
at  five  millions  of  dollars.  On  his  return  to  New- 
York,  he  opened  a  little  dingy  store  in  Gold  street  be 
tween  Fulton  and  Ann,  and  swung  out  a  sign  to  the 
breeze  bearing  the  words : 

FURS  AND  PIANOS. 

There  were  until  recently  aged  men  among  us  who 
remembered  seeing  this  sign  over  the  store  of  Mr.  As 
tor,  and  in  some  old  houses  are  preserved  ancient 
pianos  bearing  the  name  of  J.  J.  Astor  as  the  seller 
thereof.  Violins  and  flutes,  also,  are  occasionally  met 
with  that  have  his  name  upon  them.  In  1790,  seven 
years  after  his  arrival  in  this  city,  he  was  of  sufficient 
importance  to  appear  in  the  Directory  thus : 

ASTOR,  J.  J.,  Fur  Trader,  40  Little  Dock  street  (now 
part  of  Water  street.) 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN   JACOB  ASTOR.  4:1 

In  this  time  of  his  dawning  prosperity,  while  still 
inhabiting  the  small  house  of  which  his  store  was  a  part, 
he  married.  Sarah  Todd  was  the  maiden  name  of  his 
wife.  As  a  connection  of  the  family  of  Brevoort,  she 
was  then  considered  to  be  somewhat  superior  to  her 
husband  in  point  of  social  rank,  and  she  brought  him 
a  fortune,  by  no  means  despised  by  him  at  that  time, 
of  three  hundred  dollars.  She  threw  herself  heartily 
into  her  husband's  growing  business,  laboring  with 
her  own  hands,  buying,  sorting,  and  beating  the  furs. 
He  used  to  say  that  she  was  as  good  a  judge  of  the 
value  of  peltries  as  himself,  and  that  her  opinion  in  a 
matter  of  business  was  better  than  that  of  most  mer 
chants. 

Of  a  man  like  Astor,  all  kinds  of  stories  will 
be  told,  some  true,  some  false,  some  founded  upon 
fact,  but  exaggerated  or  distorted.  It  is  said,  for  ex 
ample,  that  when  he  went  into  business  for  himself,  he 
used  to  go  around  among  the  shops  and  markets  with 
a  basket  of  toys  and  cakes  upon  his  arm,  exchanging 
those  articles  for  furs.  There  are,  certainly,  old  peo 
ple  among  us  who  remember  hearing  their  parents  say 
that  they  saw  him  doing  this.  The  story  is  not  im 
probable,  for  he  had  no  false  pride,  and  was  ready  to 
turn  his  hand  to  any  thing  that  was  honest. 

Among  other  anecdotes  which  we  find  related  of 
this  part  of  his  life,  are  the  following : 

"  Astor  loved  to  tell  anecdotes  connected  with  his 
early  difficulties.  One  was  about  a  bargain  he  made 
with  his  brother  Henry,  when  the  latter  was  much 
better  off  than  his  brother  John ;  for  Henry  was  owner 
of  butcher  stall  No.  57  in  the  Fly  Market — valuable 


42  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

property  in  the  commerj cement  of  this  century.  Ilenry 
lived  at  37  Bowery  Lane. 

"John,  in  his  financial  difficulties,  frequently  went 
to  Henry  for  a  loan,  or  for  an  indorsement.  This  was 
a  source  of  annoyance  to  Henry,  who  did  not  like  to 
borrow  or  lend  to  any  body.  On  one  occasion,  John 
wanted  to  borrow  $200  very  badly.  He  went  to  Hen 
ry,  and  asked  him  to  lend  him  that  sum. 

"  *  John,  I  will  give  you  $100,  if  you  will  agree 
never  to  ask  me  to  loan  you  any  money,  indorse  a 
note,  or  sign  a  bond  for  you,  or  be  obligated  for  you 
in  any  manner  whatever.' 

"John  says  he  hesitated  for  a  moment,  rapidly  pass 
ed  the  proposition  through  his  mind,  saw  its  advan 
tages,  for  $100  was  $100  in  those  days.  He  accepted 
the  proposition,  and  he  never  did  ask  a  favor  of  that 
character  of  his  brother  in  after  years. 

"A  business  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Astor  one  day 
asked  him  what  particular  transaction  or  peculiar  kind 
of  business  first  gave  him  his  great  start.  Mr.  Astor 
never  claimed  any  great  sagacity  or  intelligence  over 
his  fellows. 

"  He  said,  in  reply,  that  at  one  period  of  his  life,  he 
had  accumulated  quite  a  quantity  of  unsalable  furs  in 
this  market,  such  as  beavers.  The  common  furs  that 
he  or  his  agents  picked  up,  namely,  musk-rat,  mink, 
rabbit,  squirrel,  etc.,  he  could  sell  in  this  city  and  at 
good  prices.  The  other  and  costly  he  had  to  buy,  but 
could  not  sell  here,  and  they  were  packed  away  in 
whisky  casks  down  in  the  cellar.  He  had  no  corre 
spondent  in  London  to  send  them  to,  and  no  disposi 
tion  to  send  them  if  he  had  had.  After  talking  over 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       43 

the  matter  with  his  wife,  they  concluded  it  would  be 
best  for  himself  to  go  out  to  London  with  the  choicest 
kind  of  furs.  He  did  so.  The  prospect  of  the  trip 
was  uncertain,  and  to  economize  as  much  as  possible, 
he  went  out  as  a  steerage  passenger. 

"  When  he  reached  London,  he  found  a  ready  mar 
ket  for  his  choice  furs,  and  sold  them  at  a  very  high 
rate.  He  made  a  list  out  of  such  goods  as  he  though* 
would  make  money  by  being  taken  to  the  New- York 
market,  purchased  and  shipped  them  by  a  vessel  bound 
hither.  After  he  was  all  through  with  his  business,  he 
was  detained  a  couple  of  weeks  by  the  ship  not  being 
ready  to  sail.  The  idle  time  he  spent  in  looking  about 
London,  and  picking  up  all  the  information  possible, 
especially  such  as  was  likely  to  advantage  his  business 
in  New- York.  Among  other  extraordinary  places  he 
visited,  was  the  great  East-India  House.  He  visited 
the  warehouse  and  offices.  On  one  occasion  he  asked 
one  of  the  porters  what  the  name  of  the  Governor  was. 
The  man  replied,  giving  a  German  name  very  familiar 
to  Mr.  Astor.  He  asked  his  informer  if  the  Governor 
was  an  Englishman.  He  replied  that  he  had  come 
from  Germany  originally  when  a  boy.  Mr.  Astor  de 
termined  to  see  him — watched  an  opportunity,  and 
sent  in  his  name.  He  was  admitted.  When  he  en 
tered,  he  said  to  the  Governor  : 

"  '  Is  not  your  name  Wilhelm ?     Did  not  you 

go  to  school  in  such  a  town  ?' 

"  '  I  did,  and  now  I  remember  you  very  well.  Your 
name  is  Astor !' 

"  After  this,  they  had  a  long  chat,  and  talked  over 
old  school  matters.  The  Governor  insisted  that  Mr. 


44  THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

Astor  should  dine  with  him.  He  declined  for  that 
day,  but  the  next  they  met  again.  He  asked  Mr.  As 
tor  several  times  if  there  was  nothing  he  could  do  for 
him.  Mr.  Astor  said  no  ;  he  had  bought  all  he  want 
ed  ;  he  needed  no  cash,  or  credit.  Almost  every  day 
they  met.  The  Governor  ,kept  urging  Mr.  Astor  to 
name  something  that  he  could  do  for  him.  He  asked 
what  present  would  be  acceptable.  Astor  declined 
any.  Finally,  they  met  two  days  before  the  vessel  was 
to  sail,  and  again  the  Governor  asked  Astor  if  he  would 
accept  any  present  he  made  him.  Mr.  Astor,  seeing 
the  Governor  so  anxious,  said  :  '  Yes.' 

"  When  he  called  to  bid  the  Governor  good-by,  the 
latter  was  really  quite  affected  at  parting  with  his  old 
German  schoolmate. 

"  '  Take  these,'  said  he,  *  you  may  find  their  value.' 
One  of  the  documents  was  simply  a  Canton  prices  cur 
rent. 

"The  other  was  a  carefully  engrossed  permit  on 
parchment,  authorizing  the  ship  that  bore  it  to  trade 
freely  and  without  any  molestation,  at  any  of  the  ports 
monopolized  by  the  East-India  Company. 

"  Mr.  Astor  bade  his  friend  good-by,  and  returned 
to  this  city,  never  giving  the  present  a  second  thought. 
He  had  no  ships,  and  never  had  any  trade  with  the 
East-Indies,  and  never  expected  to  have.  He  little 
dreamed  that  in  the  parchment  would  be  the  founda 
tion  of  vast  shipping  operations,  and  a  trade  amounting 
to  millions,  and  embracing  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
permit  was  No.  68. 

"  When  Mr.  Astor  gdt  home,  he  showed  these  docu- 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       45 

ments  to  his  wife,  and  advised  with,  her,  as  he  always 
did.  what  to  do  in  the  matter. 

"  'I  have  no  ships — it's  no  use  to  us,'  he  said.  At 
that  time,  there  was  a  very  celebrated  merchant  named 
James  Livermore.  He  was  largely  engaged  in  the 
West- India  trade,  particularly  to  Jamaica.  He  owned 
vessels — some  of  good  size. 

"  Mrs.  Astor  recommended  her  husband  to  go  and 
have  a  talk  with  the  merchant.  Mr.  Astor  went — 
showed  the  East-India  Company  ship-pass  and  the 
Canton  prices  current. 

"  '  Now,'  said  he,  '  if  you  will  make  up  a  voyage 
for  one  of  your  largest  ships,  you  can  have  the  pass 
and  have  the  prices  current,  on  one  condition.  You 
are  to  furnish  ship  and  cargo,  but  I  am  to  have  one 
half  the  profits  for  my  pass  and  for  suggesting  the 
voyage.' 

"  *  Pah,  pah !'  said  the  great  West-India  merchant. 
He  laughed  at  it — would  not  listen  to  such  a  one-sided 
operation.  Astor  went  home  and  reported  progress. 

"  For  a  time,  the  matter  was  dropped.  Not  many 
weeks  after,  the  great  West-India  merchant  thought 
over  the  matter.  He  had  made  money  in  the  West- 
India  trade,  and  he  saw  an  opening  in  the  East-Indies. 

"  At  that  time  no  vessels  traded  to  Canton.  It  waa 
just  after  the  Kevolutionary  war,  and  the  East-India 
ports  were  as  hermetically  sealed  to  American  com 
merce  as  if  it  had  not  existed. 

"  He  called  at  Mr.  Astor's  store.  ( Were  you  in 
earnest  the  other  day,  when  you  showed  me  the  pass 
of  the  East-India  Company?' 

"  *  I  was.     Never  more  so.'     Again  they  talked  over 


.. 
46       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK. 

the  matter.  The  merchant  finally  thought  he  saw  his 
way  clear,  and  an  agreement  was  signed,  agreeing  to 
give  Mr.  Astor  one  half  the  result  or  profits ;  he  to 
have  no  outlay. 

"  The  ship  was  selected  arid  loaded  ;  partly  with 
specie — Spanish  milled  dollars,  about  $30,000,  and  the 
other  half  was  ginseng,  lead,  and  scrap-iron. 

"  She  went  to  Canton.  The  pass  enabled  her  to  an 
chor  at  Whampoa,  a  few  miles  below  Canton,  where 
she  loaded  and  unloaded  her  cargo  the  same  as  if  she 
had  been  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  East-India  Com 
pany. 

"  Her  ginseng,  costing  twenty  cents  per  pound  in 
New- York,  she  sold  at  $3.50  per  pound  in  Canton, 
lead  ten  cents,  scrap-iron  at  an  enormous  price.  Tea 
was  purchased  that  sold  here  at  one  dollar  per  pound 
profit  on  the  Canton  cost. 

"  When  the  return  cargo  was  sold,  the  accounts 
were  made  out,  and  Mr.  Astor's  half  share,  which  was 
$55,000,  all  in  silver,  was  packed  in  barrels,  and  sent 
up  to  his  store.  "When  Mrs.  Astor  saw  the  barrels,  she 
asked  what  was  in  them. 

" '  The  fruits  of  our  East-India  pass,'  replied  her 
husband.  He  went  to  the  ship-owner,  and  got  back 
his  pass.  He  then  bought  a  ship,  and  loaded  her  with 
an  assorted  cargo.  On  her  way  out,  she  touched  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands  to  take  in  water  and  fresh  provi 
sions.  They  also  laid  in  a  large  stock  of  firewood. 

"  When  this  ship  reached  Canton  a  mandarin  came 
on  board,  and  noticing  their  firewood,  asked  the  price 
of  it  at  once.  The  Captain  laughed  at  such  a  ques 
tion,  but  signified  that  he  was  open  to  an  offer.  The 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.  47 

mandarin  offered  $500  a  ton,  and  every  part  of  it  was 
sold  at  that  price.  That  was  sandal  wood. 

"  For  seventeen  years  Mr.  Astor  enjoyed  that  lucra 
tive  sandal- wood  trade  without  a  rival.  No  other  con 
cern  in  the  United  States  or  England  knew  the  secret. 
]N"or  was  it  discovered  until  a  shrewd  Boston  ship 
owner  detailed  a  ship  to  follow  one  of  Mr.  Astor's,  and 
observe  the  events  of  the  voyage.  Then,  for  some 
time,  that  house  was  a  participant  in  this  valuable 
trade. 

"  It  was  a  curious  fact  that  Mrs.  Astor  knew  more 
of  the  value  of  furs  than  he  did.  She  would  select  a 
cargo  for  the  Canton  market,  and  make  no  mistake."* 

We  give  these  curions  stories  as  we  find  them, 
without  vouching  for  their  truth.  "We  resume  our 
own  plain  narrative  of  known  facts. 

*  Old  Merchants  of  New-York.    First  series. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

HIS  EAPID   PKOGRESS  TO  WEALTH. 

MR.  ASTOR  still  traversed  tlie  wilderness.  The  fa 
ther  of  the  late  lamented  General  Wadsworth  used  to 
relate  that  he  met  him  once  in  the  woods  of  Western 
New- York  in  a  sad  plight.  His  wagon  had  broken 
down  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp.  In  the  melee  all  his 
gold  had  rolled  away  through  the  bottom  of  the  vehi 
cle,  and  was  irrecoverably  lost ;  and  Astor  was  seen 
emerging  from  the  swamp  covered  with  mud  and  car 
rying  on  his  shoulder  an  axe — the  sole  relic  of  his 
property.  When  at  length,  in  1794,  Jay's  treaty 
caused  the  evacuation  of  the  western  forts  held  by  the 
British,  his  business  so  rapidly  extended  that  he  was 
enabled  to  devolve  these  laborious  journeys  upon 
others,  while  he  remained  in  New- York,  controlling  a 
business  that  now  embraced  the  region  of  the  great 
lakes,  and  gave  employment  to  a  host  of  trappers,  col 
lectors,  and  agents.  He  was  soon  in  a  position  to  pur- 
chase  a  ship,  in  which  his  furs  were  carried  to  London, 
and  in  which  he  occasionally  made  a  voyage  himself. 
He  was  still  observed  to  be  most  assiduous  in  the  pur 
suit  of  commercial  knowledge.  He  was  never  weary 
of  inquiring  about  the  markets  of  Europe  and  Asia, 
the  ruling  prices  and  commodities  of  each,  the  stand- 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.       4£ 

ing  of  commercial  houses,  and  all  other  particulars 
that  could  be  of  use.  Hence  his  directions  to  his  cap 
tains  and  agents  were  always  explicit  and  minute,  and 
if  any  enterprise  failed  to  be  profitable  it  could  gen 
erally  be  distinctly  seen  that  it  was  because  his  orders 
had  not  been  obeyed.  In  London  he  became  most 
intimately  conversant  with  the  operations  of  the  East- 
India  Company  and  with  the  China  trade.  China  be 
ing  the  best  market  in  the  world  for  furs,  and  furnish 
ing  commodities  which  in  America  had  become  neces 
saries  of  life,  he  was  quick  to  perceive  what  an  advan 
tage  he  would  have  over  other  merchants  by  sending 
his  ships  to  Canton  provided  with  furs  as  well  as  dol 
lars.  It  was  about  the  year  1800  that  he  sent  his  first 
ship  to  Canton,  and  he  continued  to  carry  on  com 
merce  with  China  for  twenty-seven  years,  sometimes 
with  loss,  generally  with  profit,  and  occasionally  with 
splendid  and  bewildering  success. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  year  1800,  when  he 
was  worth  a  quarter  of  million  dollars  and  had  been 
in  business  fifteen  years,  that  he  indulged  himself  in 
the  comfort  of  living  in  a  house  apart  from  his  busi 
ness.  In  1794  he  appears  in  the  Directory  as  "  Fur 
rier,  149  Broadway."  From  1796  to  1799  he  figures 
as  "  Fur  Merchant,  149  Broadway."  In  1800  he  had 
a  storehouse  at  141  Greenwich  street,  and  lived  at 
223  Broadway,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Astor  House. 
In  1801,  his  store  was  at  71  Liberty  street,  and  he  had 
removed  his  residence  back  to  149  Broadway.  The 
year  following  we  find  him  again  at  223  Broadway, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
His  house  was  such  as  a  fifth-rate  merchant  would  now 


50  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

consider  much  beneath  his  dignity.  Mr.  Astor,  in 
deed,  had  a  singular  dislike  to  living  in  a  large  house. 
He  had  neither  expensive  tastes  nor  wasteful  vices. 
His  luxuries  were  a  pipe,  a  glass  of  beer,  a  game  of 
draughts,  a  ride  on  horseback,  and  the  theatre.  Of 
the  theatre  he  was  particularly  fond.  He  seldom 
missed  a  good  performance  in  the  palmy  days  of  the 
"Old  Park." 

It  was  his  instinctive  abhorrence  of  ostentation  and 
waste  that  enabled  him,  as  it  were,  to  glide  into  the 
millionaire  without  being  observed  by  his  neighbors. 
He  used  to  relate,  with  a  chuckle,  that  he  was  worth  a 
million  before  any  one  suspected  it.  A  dandy  bank 
clerk,  one  day,  having  expressed  a  doubt  as  to  the  suf 
ficiency  of  his  name  to  a  piece  of  mercantile  paper, 
Astor  asked  him  how  much  he  thought  he  was  worth. 
The  clerk  mentioned  a  sum  ludicrously  less  than  the 
real  amount.  Astor  then  asked  him  how  much  he 
supposed  this  and  that  leading  merchant,  whom  he 
named,  was  worth.  The  young  man  endowed  them 
with  generous  sum-totals  proportioned  to  their  style 
of  living.  "Well,"  said  Astor,  "lam  worth  more 
than  any  of  them.  I  will  not  say  how  much  I  am 
worth,  but  I  am  worth  more  than  any  sum  you  have 
mentioned."  " Then,"  said  the  clerk,  "you  are  even 
a  greater  fool  than  I  took  you  for.  to  work  as  hard  as 
you  do."  The  old  man  would  tell  this  story  with 
great  glee,  for  he  always  liked  a  joke. 

In  the  course  of  his  long  life  he  had  frequent  oppor 
tunities  of  observing  what  becomes  of  those  gay  mer 
chants  who  live  up  to  the  incomes  of  prosperous  years, 
regardless  of  the  inevitable  time  of  commercial  col- 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       51 

lapse.  It  must  be  owned  that  he  held  in  utter  con 
tempt  the  dashing  style  of  living  and  doing  business 
which  has  too  often  prevailed  in  New- York ;  and  he 
was  very  slow  to  give  credit  to  a  house  that  carried 
sail  out  of  proportion  to  its  ballast.  Nevertheless,  he 
was  himself  no  plodder  when  plodding  had  ceased  to 
be  necessary.  At  the  time  when  his  affairs  were  on 
their  greatest  scale,  he  would  leave  his  office  at  two  in 
the  afternoon,  go  home  to  an  early  dinner,  then  mount 
his  horse  and  ride  about  the  island  till  it  was  time  to 
go  to  the  theatre.  He  had  a  strong  aversion  to  ille 
gitimate  speculation,  and  particularly  to  gambling  in 
stocks.  The  note-shaving  and  stock -jobbing  opera 
tions  of  the  Kothschilds  he  despised.  It  was  his  pride 
and  boast  that  he  gained  his  own  fortune  by  legitimate 
commerce,  and  by  the  legitimate  investment  of  his  pro 
fits.  Having  an  unbounded  faith  in  the  destiny  of 
the  United  States,  and  in  the  future  commercial  su 
premacy  of  New- York,  it  was  his  custom,  from  about 
the  year  1800,  to  invest  his  gains  in  the  purchase  of 
lots  and  lands  on  Manhattan  Island. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

ANECDOTES  OF  HIS  CLOSENESS. 

WE  have  all  heard  much  of  the  closeness,  or  rather 
the  meanness,  of  this  remarkable  man.  Truth  com 
pels  us  to  admit,  as  we  have  before  intimated,  that  he 
was  not  generous,  except  to  his  own  kindred.  His 
liberality  began  and  ended  in  his  own  family.  Very 
Beldom  during  his  lifetime  did  he  willingly  do  a  gener 
ous  act  outside  of  the  little  circle  of  his  relations  and 
descendants.  To  get  all  that  he  could,  and  to  keep 
nearly  all  that  he  got — those  were  the  laws  of  his 
being.  He  had  a  vast  genius  for  making  money,  and 
that  was  all  that  he  Bad. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  know  that  sometimes  his  extreme 
closeness  defeated  its  own  object.  He  once  lost  seventy 
thousand  dollars  by  committing  a  piece  of  petty  in 
justice  toward  his  best  captain.  This  gallant  sailor, 
being  notified  by  an  insurance  office  of  the  necessity 
of  having  a  chronometer  on  board  his  ship,  spoke  to 
Mr.  Astor  on  the  subject,  who  advised  the  captain  to 
buy  one. 

"But,"  said  the  captain,  "I  have  no  five  hundred 
dollars  to  spare  for  such  a  purpose ;  the  chronometer 
should  belong  to  the  ship.7' 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       53 

"  Well,"  said  the  merchant,  "  you  need  not  pay  for 
it  now  ;  pay  for  it  at  your  convenience." 

The  captain  still  objecting,  Astor,  after  a  prolonged 
higgling,  authorized  him  to  buy  a  chronometer,  and 
charge  it  to  the  ship's   account;    which  was   done. 
Sailing  day  was  at  hand.     The  ship  was  hauled  into 
the  stream.     The  captain,  as  is  the  custom,  handed  in 
his  account.     Astor,  subjecting  it  to  his  usual  close 
scrutiny,  observed  the  novel  item  of  five  hundred  dol 
lars  for  the  chronometer.     He  objected,  averring  that 
it  was  understood  between  them  that  the  captain  was 
to  pay  for  the  instrument.     The  worthy  sailor   re 
called  the  conversation,  and  firmly  held  to  his  recol 
lection  of  it.     Astor  insisting  on  his  own  view  of  the 
matter,  the  captain  was  so  profoundly  disgusted  that, 
important  as  the  command  of  the  ship  was  to  him,  he 
resigned  his  post.     Another  captain  was  soon  found, 
and  the  ship  sailed  for  China.     Another  house,  which 
was  then  engaged  in  the  China  trade,  knowing  the 
worth  of  this  "  king  of  captains."  as  Astor  himself 
used  to  style  him,  bought  him  a  ship  and  dispatched 
him  to  Canton   two   months   after  the  departure  of 
Astor's  vessel.     Our  captain,  put  upon  his  mettle,  em 
ployed  all  his  skill  to  accelerate  the  speed  of  his  ship, 
and  had  such  success,  that  he  reached  New- York  with 
a  full  cargo  of  tea  just  seven  days  after  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Astor's  ship.     Astor,  not  expecting  another  ship 
for  months,  and  therefore  sure  of  monopolizing  the 
market,  had  not  yet  broken  bulk,  nor  even  taken  off 
the  hatchways.     Our  captain  arrived  on  a  Saturday. 
Advertisements   and  hand-bills  were  immediately  is 
sued,  and  on  the  Wednesday  morning  following,  as  the 


54:  THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

custom  then  was,  the  auction  sale  of  the  tea  began  on 
the  wharf — two  barrels  of  punch  contributing  to  the 
eclat  and  hilarity  of  the  occasion.  The  cargo  was  sold 
to  good  advantage,  and  the  market  was  glutted.  Astor 
lost  in  consequence  the  entire  profits  of  the  voyage,  not 
less  than  the  sum  named  above.  Meeting  the  captain 
some  time  after  in  Broadway,  he  said, 

"I  had  better  have  paid  for  that  chronometer  of 
yours." 

Without  ever  acknowledging  that  he  had  been  in 
the  wrong,  he  was  glad  enough  to  engage  the  captain's 
future  services.  This  anecdote  we  received  from  the 
worthy  captain's -own  lips. 

On  one  occasion  the  same  officer  had  the  opportu 
nity  of  rendering  the  great  merchant  a  most  signal 
service.  The  agent  of  Mr.  Astor  in  China  suddenly 
died  at  a  time  when  the  property  in  his  charge 
amounted  to  about  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Our  captain,  who  was  not  then  in  Astor's  employ,  was 
perfectly  aware  that  if  this  immense  property  fell  into 
official  hands,  as  the  law  required,  not  one  dollar  of  it 
would  e,ver  again  find  its  way  to  the  coffers  of  its  pro- 
prieter.  By  a  series  of  bold,  prompt,  and  skillful 
measures,  he  rescued  it  from  the  official  maw,  and 
made  it  yield  a  profit  to  the  owner.  Mr.  Astor  ac 
knowledged  the  service.  He  acknowledged  it  with 
emphasis  and  a  great  show  of  gratitude.  He  said 
many  times : 

"  If  you  had  not  done  just  as  you  did,  I  should 
never  have  seen  one  dollar  of  my  money ;  no,  not  one 
dollar  of  it." 

But  he  not  only  did  not  compensate  him  for  his 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  55 

services,  but  he  did  not  even  reimburse  the  small  sum 
of  money  which  the  captain  had  expended  in  perform 
ing  those  services.  Astor  was  then  worth  ten  mil 
lions,  and  the  captain  had  his  hundred  dollars  a  month 
and  a  family  of  young  children. 

Thus  the  great  merchant  recompensed  great  services. 
He  was  not  more  just  in  rewarding  small  ones.  On 
one  occasion  a  ship  of  his  arrived  from  China,  which 
he  found  necessary  to  dispatch  at  once  to  Amsterdam, 
the  market  in  New- York  being  depressed  by  an  over- 
supply  of  China  merchandise.  But  on  board  this 
ship,  under  a  mountain  of  tea-chests,  the  owner  had 
two  pipes  of  precious  Madeira  wine,  which  had  been 
sent  on  a  voyage  for  the  improvement  of  its  constitu 
tion. 

"Can  you  get  out  that  wine,"  asked  the  owner, 
"without  discharging  the  tea?" 

The  captain  thought  he  could. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Astor,  "you  get  it  out,  and 
I'll  give  you  a  demijohn  of  it.  You'll  say  it's  the  best 
wine  you  ever  tasted." 

It  required  the  labor  of  the  whole  ship's  crew  for 
two  days  to  get  out  those  two  pipes  of  wine.  They 
were  sent  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Astor.  A  year  passed. 
The  captain  had  been  to  Amsterdam  and  back,  but  he 
had  received  no  tidings  of  his  demijohn  of  Madeira. 
One  day,  when  Mr.  Astor  was  on  board  the  ship,  the 
captain  ventured  to  remind  the  great  man,  in  a  jocular 
mariner,  that  he  had  not  received  the  wine. 

"  Ah  I"  said  Astor,  "  don't  you  know  the  reason  ? 
It  isn't  fine  yet  Wait  till  it  is  fine,  and  you'll  say 


66       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

you  never  tasted  such  Madeira."     The  captain  never 
heard  of  that  wine  again. 

These  traits  show  the  moral  weakness  of  the  man. 
It  is  only  when  we  regard  his  mercantile  exploits  that 
we  can  admire  him.  He  was,  unquestionably,  one  of 
the  ablest,  boldest,  and  most  successful  operators  that 
every  lived.  He  seldom  made  a  mistake  in  the  con 
duct  of  business.  Having  formed  his  plan,  he  carried 
it  out  with  a  nerve  and  steadiness,  with  such  a  firm  and 
easy  grasp  of  all  the  details,  that  he  seemed  rather  to 
be  playing  an  interesting  game  than  transacting  busi 
ness.  "  He  could  command  an  army  of  five  hundred 
thousand  men  1"  exclaimed  one  of  his  admirers.  That 
was  an  erroneous  remark.  He  could  have  commanded 
an  army  of  five  hundred  thousand  tea-chests,  with  a 
heavy  auxiliary  force  of  otter  skins  and  beaver  skins. 
But  a  commander  of  men  must  be  superior  morally 
as  well  as  intellectually.  He  must  be  able  to  win  the 
love  and  excite  the  enthusiasm  of  his  followers.  Astor 
would  have  made  a  splendid  commissary-general  to  the 
army  of  Xerxes,  but  he  could  no  more  have  conquered 
Greece  than  Xerxes  himself. 


CHAPTER  XL 

HOW  HE  BECAME   SO  ENORMOUSLY  RICH. 

THE  reader  may  be  curious  to  know  by  what  means 
Mr.  Astor  became  so  preposterously  rich.  Few  suc 
cessful  men  gain  a  single  million  by  legitimate  com 
merce.  A  million  dollars  is  a  most  enormous  sum  of 
money.  It  requires  a  considerable  effort  of  the  mind 
to  conceive  it.  But  this  indomitable  little  German 
managed,  in  the  course  of  sixty  years,  to  accumulate 
twenty  millions ;  of  which,  probably,  not  more  than 
two  millions  was  the  fruit  of  his  business  as  a  fur 
trader  and  China  merchant. 

At  that  day  the  fur  trade  was  exceedingly  profitable, 
as  well  as  of  vast  extent.  It  is  estimated  that  about 
the  year  1800  the  number  of  peltries  annually  fur 
nished  to  commerce  was  about  six  millions,  varying 
in  value  from  fifteen  cents  to  five  hundred  dollars. 
"When  every  respectable  man  in  Europe  and  America 
wore  a  beaver  skin  upon  his  head,  or  a  part  of  one, 
and  when  a  good  beaver  skin  could  be  bought  in 
Western  New- York  for  a  dollar's  worth  of  trash,  and 
could  be  sold  in  London  for  twenty -five  English  shil 
lings,  and  when  those  twenty-five  English  shillings 
could  be  invested  in  English  cloth  and  cutlery,  and 
sold  in  New  York  for  forty  shillings,  it  may  be  im- 


58  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

agined  that  fur-trading  was  a  very  good  business.  Mr. 
Astor  had  his  share  of  the  cream  of  it,  and  that  was 
the  foundation  of  his  colossal  fortune.  Hence,  too,  the 
tender  love  he  felt  for  a  fine  fur. 

In  the  next  place,  his  ventures  to  China  were  some 
times  exceedingly  fortunate.  A  fair  profit  on  a  voy 
age  to  China  at  that  day  was  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
Mr.  Astor  has  been  known  to  gain  seventy  thousand, 
and  to  have  his  money  in  his  pocket  within  the  year. 
He  was  remarkably  lucky  in  the  war  of  1812.  All 
his  ships  escaped  capture,  and  arriving  at  a  time  when 
foreign  commerce  was  almost  annihilated  and  tea  had 
doubled  in  price,  his  gains  were  so  immense,  that  the 
million  or  more  lost  in  the  Astorian  enterprise  gave 
him  not  even  a  momentary  inconvenience. 

At  that  time,  too,  tea  merchants  of  large  capital  had 
an  advantage  which  they  do  not  now  enjoy.  A  writer 
explains  the  manner  in  which  the  business  was  done 
in  those  days : 

"  It  was  a  great  business.  A  house  that  could  raise 
money  enough  thirty  years  ago  to  send  $260,000  in 
specie,  could  soon  have  an  uncommon  capital,  and  this 
was  the  working  of  the  old  system.  The  Griswolds 
owned  the  ship  Panama.  They  started  her  from  here 
in  the  month  of  May,  with  a  cargo  of  perhaps  $30,000 
worth  of  ginseng,  spelter,  lead,  iron,  etc.,  and  $170,000 
in  Spanish  dollars.  The  ship  goes  on  the  voyage, 
reaches  Whampoa  in  safety,  (a  few  miles  below  Can 
ton.)  Her  supercargo  in  two  months  has  her  loaded 
with  tea,  some  china  ware,  a  great  deal  of  cassia  or 
false  cinnamon  and  a  few  other  articles.  Suppose 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       59 

the  cargo,  mainly  tea,  costing  about  thirty-seven  cents 
(at  that  time)  per  pound  on  the  average. 

"  The  duty  was  enormous  in  those  days.  It  was 
twice  the  cost  of  the  tea,  at  least :  so  that  a  tea  cargo 
of  $200,000,  when  it  had  paid  duty  of  seventy-five 
cents  per  pound,  (which  would  be  $400,000,)  amount 
ed  to  $600,000.  The  profit  was  at  least  fifty  per  cent 
on  the  original  cost,  or  $100,000,  and  would  make  the 
cargo  worth  $700,000. 

"The  cargo  of  teas  would  be  sold  almost  on  arrival 
(say  eleven  or  twelve  months  after  the  ship  left  New- 
York  in  May)  to  wholesale  grocers,  for  their  notes  at 
four  and  six  months — say  for  $700,000.  In  those 
years  there  was  credit  given  by  the  United  States  of  nine, 
twelve,  and  eighteen  months !  So  that  the  East-India 
or  Canton  merchant,  after  his  ship  had  made  one  voy 
age,  had  the  use  of  Government  capital  to  the  extent 
of  $400,000,  on  the  ordinary  cargo  of  a  China  ship  as 
stated  above. 

"  No  sooner  had  the  ship  Panama  arrived,  (or  any  of 
the  regular  East-Indiamen,)  than  her  cargo  would  be 
exchanged  for  grocers'  notes  for  $700,000.  These  notes 
could  be  turned  into  specie  very  easily,  and  the  owner 
had  only  to  pay  his  bonds  for  $400,000  duty,  at  nine, 
twelve,  and  eighteen  months,  giving  him  time  actually 
to  send  two  more  ships  with  $200,000  each  to  Canton, 
and  have  them  back  again  in  New-York  before  the 
bonds  on  the  first  cargo  were  due. 

"John  Jacob  Astor  at  one  period  of  his  life  had  sev 
eral  vessels  operating  in  this  way.  They  would  go  to 
the  Pacific  (Oregon)  and  carry  from  thence  furs  to  Can 
ton.  These  would  be  sold  at  large  profits.  Then  the 


60  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

cargoes  of  tea  to  New- York  would  pay  enormous  du 
ties,  which  Astor  did  not  have  to  pay  to  the  United 
States  for  a  year  and  a  half.  His  tea  cargoes  would 
be  sold  for  good  four  and  six  months  paper,  or  perhaps 
cash ;  so  that  for  eighteen  or  twenty  years  John  Jacob 
Astor  had  what  was  actually  a  free-of-interest  loan 
from  Grovernment  of  over  five  millions  of  dollars.  As 
tor  was  prudent  and  lucky  in  his  operations,  and  such 
an  enormous  Government  loan  did  not  ruin  him  as  it 
did  many  others.  One  house  was  Thomas  H.  Smith 
&  Sons.  This  firm  also  went  enormously  into  the 
Canton  trade,  and  although  possessing  originally  but 
a  few  thousand  dollars,  Smith  imported  teas  to  such 
an  extent,  that  when  he  failed  he  owed  the  United 
States  three  millions,  and  not  a  cent  has  ever  been 
paid."* 

But  it  was  neither  his  tea  trade  nor  his  fur  trade  that 
gave  Astor  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  It  was  his  sa 
gacity  in  investing  his  profits  that  made  him  the  richest 
man  in  America.  When  he  first  trod  the  streets  of 
New-York,  in  1784,  the  city  was  a  snug,  leafy  place  of 
twenty-five  thousandr  inhabitants,  situated  at  the  ex 
tremity  of  the  island,  mostly  below  Cortlandt  street. 
In  1800,  when  he  began  to  have  money  to  invest,  the 
city  had  more  than  doubled  in  population,  and  had  ad 
vanced  nearly  a  mile  up  the  island.  Now,  Astor  was 
a  shrewd  calculator  of  the  future.  No  reason  appeared 
why  New-York  should  not  repeat  this  doubling  game 
and  this  mile  of  extension  every  fifteen  years.  He 
acted  upon  the  supposition,  and  fell  into  the  habit 
of  buying  lands  and  lots  just  beyond  the  verge 

*  Old  Merchants  of  New- York.    First  Series. 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.       61 

of  the  city.  One  little  anecdote  will  show  the  wis 
dom  of  this  proceeding.  He  sold  a  lot  in  the  vicin 
ity  of  Wall  street,  about  the  year  1810,  for  eight  thou 
sand  dollars,  which  was  supposed  to  be  somewhat  un 
der  its  value.  The  purchaser,  after  the  papers  were 
signed,  seemed  disposed  to  chuckle  over  his  bargain. 

"Why,  Mr.  Astor,"  said  he,  uin  a  few  years  this 
lot  will  be  worth  twelve  thousand  dollars." 

"  Yery  true,"  replied  Astor ;  "  but  now  you  shall  see 
what  I  will  do  with  this  money.  With  eight  thousand 
dollars  I  buy  eighty  lots  above  Canal  street.  By  the 
time  your  lot  is  worth  twelve  thousand  dollars,  my 
eighty  lots  will  be  worth  eighty  thousand  dollars;" 
which  proved  to  be  the  fact. 

His  purchase  of  the  Kichmond  Hill  estate  of  Aaron 
Burr  was  a  case  in  point.  He  bought  the  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  at  a  thousand  dollars  an  acre,  and  in  twelve 
years  the  land  was  worth  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  lot. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  island  was  dotted  all  over 
with  Astor  lands — to  such  an  extent  that  the  whole 
income  of  his  estate  for  fifty  years  could  be  invested 
in  new  houses  without  buying  any  more  land. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ONE  OF  HIS  SPECULATIONS. 

His  land  speculations,  however,  were  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  little  island  of  Manhattan.  Aged  read 
ers  can  not  have  forgotten  the  most  celebrated  of  all 
his  operations  of  this  kind,  by  which  he  acquired  a 
legal  title  to  one  third  of  the  county  of  Putnam  in  this 
State.  This  enormous  tract  was  part  of  the  estate  of 
Roger  Morris  and  Mary  his  wife,  who,  by  adhering  to 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
forfeited  their  landed  property  in  the  State  of  New- 
York.  Having  been  duly  attainted  as  public  enemies, 
they  fled  to  England  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  the 
State  sold  their  lands,  in  small  parcels,  to  honest  Whig 
farmers.  The  estate  comprised  fifty-one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  two  acres,  upon  which  were  living,  in 
1809,  more  than  seven  hundred  families,  all  relying 
upon  the  titles  which  the  State  of  New- York  had 
given.  Now  Mr.  Astor  stepped  forward  to  disturb  the 
security  of  this  community  of  farmers.  It  appeared, 
and  was  proved  beyond  doubt,  that  Roger  and  Mary 
Morris  had  only  possessed  a  life-interest  in  this  estate, 
and  that,  therefore,  it  was  only  that  life-interest  which 
the  State  could  legally  confiscate.  The  moment  Rogei 
and  Mary  Morris  ceased  to  live,  the  property  would 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       63 

fall  to  their  heirs,  with  all  the  houses,  barns,  and  other 
improvements  thereon.  After  a  most  thorough  exami 
nation  of  the  papers  by  the  leading  counsel  of  that 
day,  Mr.  Astor  bought  the  rights  of  the  heirs,  in  1809, 
for  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  At  that  time 
Koger  Morris  was  no  more ;  and  Mary  his  wife  was 
nearly  eighty,  and  extremely  infirm.  She  lingered,  how 
ever,  for  some  years ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  peace 
of  1815  that  the  claims  of  Mr.  Astor  were  pressed. 
The  consternation  of  the  farmers  and  the  astonishment 
of  the  people  generally,  when  at  length  the  great  mil 
lionaire  stretched  out  his  hand  to  pluck  this  large  ripe 
pear,  may  be  imagined.  A  great  clamor  arose  against 
him.  It  can  not  be  denied,  however,  that  he  acted  in 
this  business  with  moderation  and  dignity.  Upon  the 
first  rumor  of  his  claim,  in  1814,  commissioners  were 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  inquire  into  it.  These 
gentlemen,  finding  the  claim  more  formidable  than  had 
been  Suspected,  asked  Mr.  Astor  for  what  sum  he 
would  compromise.  The  lands  were  valued  at  six 
hundred  and  sixty -seven  thousand  dollars,  but  Astor 
replied  that  he  would  sell  his  claim  for  three  hundred 
thousand.  The  offer  was  not  accepted,  and  the  affair 
lingered.  In  1818,  Mary  Morris  being  supposed  to  be 
at  the  point  of  death,  and  the  farmers  being  in  constant 
dread  of  the  writs  of  ejectment  which  her  death  would 
bring  upon  them,  commissioners  were  again  appointed 
by  Legislature  to  look  into  the  matter.  Again  Mr. 
Astor  was  asked  upon  what  terms  he  would  compro 
mise.  He  replied  January  19,  1819  : 

"  In  1813  or  1814  a  similar  proposition  was  made  to 
me  by  the  commissioners  then  appointed  by  the  Hon- 


64       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

orable  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  when  I  offered  to 
compromise  for  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  which,  considering  the  value  of  the  property  in 
question,  was  thought  very  reasonable;  and,  at  the 
present  period,  when  the  life  of  Mrs.  Morris  is,  accord 
ing  to  calculation,  worth  little  or  nothing,  she  being 
near  eighty-six  years  of  age,  and  the  property  more 
valuable  than  it  was  in  1813,  I  am  still  willing  to  re 
ceive  the  amount  which  I  then  stated,  with  interest  on 
the  same,  payable  in  money  or  stock,  bearing  an  in 
terest  of  —  per  cent,  payable  quarterly.  The  stock 
may  be  made  payable  at  such  periods  as  the  Honor 
able  the  Legislature  may  deem  proper.  This  offer 
•will,  I  trust,  be  considered  as  liberal,  and  as  a  proof 
of  my  willingness  to  compromise  on  terms  which  are 
reasonable,  considering  the  value  of  the  property,  the 
price  which  it  cost  me,  and  the  inconvenience  of  hav 
ing  so  long  laid  out  of  my  money,  which,  if  employed 
in  commercial  operations,  would  most  likely  have  pro 
duced  better  profits." 

The  Legislature  were  not  yet  prepared  to  compro 
mise.  It  was  not  till  1827  that  a  test  case  was  selected 
and  brought  to  trial  before  a  jury.  The  most  eminent 
counsel  were  employed  on  the  part  of  the  State — 
Daniel  Webster  and  Martin  Yan  Buren  among  them. 
Astor's  cause  was  Entrusted  to  Emmet,  Ogden,  and 
others.  We  believe  that  Aaron  Burr  was  consulted 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Astor,  though  he  did  not  appear  in 
the  trial.  The  efforts  of  the  array  of  counsel  employed 
by  the  State  were  exerted  in  vain  to  find  a  flaw  in  the 
paper  upon  which  Astor's  claim  mainly  rested.  Mr. 
Webster's  speech  on  this  occasion  betrays,  even  to  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       65 

unprofessional  reader,  both  that  he  had  no  case  and 
that  he  knew  he  had  not,  for  he  indulged  in  a  strain 
of  remark  that  could  only  have  been  designed  to  pre 
judice,  not  convince,  the  jury. 

"It  is  a  claim  for  lands,"  said  he,  "not  in  their  wild 
and  forest  state,  but  for  lands  the  intrinsic  value  of 
which  is  mingled  with  the  labor  expended  upon  them. 
It  is  no  every-day  purchase,  for  it  extends  over  towns 
and  counties,  and  almost  takes  in  a  degree  of  latitude. 
It  is  a  stupendous  speculation.  The  individual  who 
now  claims  it  has  not  succeeded  to  it  by  inheritance ; 
he  has  not  attained  it,  as  he  did  that  vast  wealth  which 
no  one  less  envies  him  than  I  do,  by  fair  and  honest 
exertions  in  commercial  enterprise,  but  by  speculation, 
by  purchasing  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  heirs  of  a  fam 
ily  driven  from  their  country  by  a  bill  of  attainder. 
By  the  defendants,  on  the  contrary,  the  lands  in  ques 
tion  are  held  as  a  patrimony.  They  have  labored  for 
years  to  improve  them.  The  rugged  hills  had  grown 
green  under  their  cultivation  before  a  question  was 
raised  as  to  the  integrity  of  their  titles." 

A  line  of  remark  like  this  would  appeal  powerfully 
to  a  jury  of  farmers.  Its  effect,  however,  was  de 
stroyed  by  the  simple  observation  of  one  of  the  oppos 
ing  counsel : 

"  Mr.  Astor  bought  this  property  confiding  in  the 
justice  of  the  State  of  New-York,  firmly  believing 
that  in  the  litigation  of  his  claim  his  rights  would  be 
maintained." 

It  is  creditable  to  the  administration  of  justice  in 
New-York,  and  creditable  to  the  very  institution  of 
trial  by  jury,  that  Mr.  Astor's  most  unpopular  and 


66       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

even  odious  cause  was  triumphant.  Warned  by  this 
verdict,  the  Legislature  consented  to  compromise  on 
Mr.  Astor's  own  terms.  The  requisite  amount  of 
"  Astor  stock,"  as  it  was  called,  was  created.  Mr.  Aa- 
tor  received  about  half  a  million  of  dollars,  and  the 
titles  of  the  lands  were  secured  to  their  rightful  own 
ers.  TTo  render  this  conclusion  of  the  affair  palatable 
to  the  people,  the  trial  and  the  documents  were  pub 
lished  in  pamphlets. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

HIS   GREATEST  ENTERPRISE. 

THE  crowning  glory  of  Mr.  Astor's  mercantile  ca 
reer  was  that  vast  and  brilliant  enterprise  which  Wash 
ington  Irving  has  commemorated  in  "  Astoria."  No 
other  single  individual  has  ever  set  on  foot  a  scheme 
so  extensive,  so  difficult,  and  so  costly  as  this ;  nor  has 
any  such  enterprise  been  carried  out  with  such  sus 
tained  energy  and  perseverance.  To  establish  a  line 
of  trading-posts  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Pacific,  a  four 
months'  journey  in  a  land  of  wilderness,  prairie,  moun 
tain,  and  desert,  inhabited  by  treacherous  or  hostile 
savages — to  found  a  permanent  settlement  on  the  Pa 
cific  coast  as  the  grand  d^pot  of  furs  and  supplies — to 
arrange  a  plan  by  which  the  furs  collected  should  be 
regularly  transported  to  China,  and  the  ships  return 
to  New- York  laden  with  tea  and  silks,  and  then  pro 
ceed  once  more  to  the  Pacific  coast  to  repeat  the  cir 
cuit — to  maintain  all  the  parts  of  this  scheme  without 
the  expectation  of  any  but  a  remote  profit,  sending 
ship  after  ship  before  any  certain  intelligence  of  the 
first  ventures  had  arrived — this  was  an  enterprise 
which  had  been  memorable  if  it  had  been  undertaken 
by  a  wealthy  corporation  or  a  powerful  government, 
instead  of  a  private  merchant,  unaided  by  any  re- 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK. 

sources  but  his  own.  At  every  moment  in  the  con 
duct  of  this  magnificent  attempt  Mr.  Astor  appears  the 
great  man.  His  parting  instructions  to  the  captain  of 
his  first  ship  call  to  mind  those  of  General  Washing 
ton  to  St.  Clair  on  a  similar  occasion.  "All  the  acci 
dents  that  have  yet  happened,"  said  the  merchant, 
"arose  from  too  much  confidence  in  the  Indians." 
The  ship  was  lost,  a  year  after,  by  the  disregard  of 
this  last  warning.  When  the  news  reached  New- York 
of  the  massacre  of  the  crew  and  the  blowing  up  of 
the  ship,  the  man  who  flew  into  a  passion  at  seeing  a 
little  boy  drop  a  wine-glass,  behaved  with  a  compo 
sure  that  was  the  theme  of  general  admiration.  He 
attended  the  theater  the  same  evening,  and  entered 
heartily  into  the"  play.  Mr.  Irving  relates  that  a  friend 
having  expressed  surprise  at  this,  Mr.  Astor  replied : 

"  What  would  you  have  me  do  ?  Would  you  have 
me  stay  at  home  and  weep  for  what  I  can  not  help  ?" 

This  was  not  indifference;  for  when,  after  nearly 
two  years  of  weary  waiting,  he  heard  of  the  safety 
and  success  of  the  overland  expedition,  he  was  so 
overjoyed  that  he  could  scarcely  contain  himself. 

"  I  felt  ready,"  said  he,  "to  fall  upon  my  knees  in 
a  transport  of  gratitude." 

A  touch  in  one  of  his  letters  shows  the  absolute  con 
fidence  he  felt  in  his  own  judgment  and  abilities,  a 
confidence  invariably  exhibited  by  men  of  the  first 
executive  talents. 

"Were  I  on  the  spot,"  he  wrote  to  one  of  his  agents 
when  the  affairs  of  the  settlement  appeared  desperate, 
"  and  had  the  management  of  affairs,  I  would  defy 
them  all ;  but,  as  it  is,  every  thing  depends  upon  you 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       69 

and  the  friends  about  you.  Our  enterprise  is  grand 
and  deserves  success,  and  I  hope  in  God  it  will  meet 
it.  If  my  object  was  merely  gain  of  money  I  should 
say,  think  whether  it  is  best  to  save  what  we  can  and 
abandon  the  place ;  but  the  thought  is  like  a  dagger 
to  my  heart." 

He  intimates  here  that  his  object  was  not  merely 
"gain  of  money."  What  was  it,  then?  Mr.  Irving 
informs  us  that  it  was  desire  of  fame.  We  should 
rather  say  that  when  nature  endows  a  man  with  a  re 
markable  gift  she  also  implants  within  him  the  love  of 
exercising  it.  Astor  loved  to  plan  a  vast,  far-reaching 
enterprise.  He  loved  it  as  Morphy  loves  to  play  chess, 
as  Napoleon  loved  to  plan  a  campaign,  as  Eaphael 
loved  to  paint,  and  Handel  to  compose. 

The  war  of  1812  foiled  the  enterprise.'  "But  for 
that  war,"  Mr.  Astor  used  to  say,  "  I  should  have  been 
the  richest  man  that  ever  lived."  He  expected  to  go 
on  expending  money  for  several  years,  and  then  to 
gain  a  steady  annual  profit  of  millions.  It  was,  how 
ever,  that  very  war  that  enabled  him  to  sustain  the 
enormous  losses  of  the  enterprise  without  injury  to 
his  estate,  or  even  a  momentary  inconvenience.  During 
the  first  year  of  the  war  he  had  the  luck  to  re 
ceive  two  or  three  cargoes  of  tea  from  China,  despite 
the  British  cruisers.  In  the  second  year  of  the  war, 
when  the  Government  was  reduced  to  borrow  at  eighty, 
he  invested  largely  in  the  loan,  which,  one  year  after 
the  peace,  stood  at  one  hundred  and  twenty. 

Mr.  Astor  at  all  times  was  a  firm  believer  in  the 
destiny  of  the  United  States.  In  other  words,  he  held 
its  public  stock  in  profound  respect.  He  had  little  to 


70       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

say  of  politics,  but  he  was  a  supporter  of  the  old  Whig 
party  for  many  years,  and  had  a  great  regard,  personal 
and  political,  for  its  leader  and  ornament,  Henry  Clay. 
He  was  never  better  pleased  than  when  he  entertained 
Mr.  Clay  at  his  own  house.  It  ought  to  be  mentioned 
in  this  connection  that  when,  in  June,  1812,  the  mer 
chants  of  New- York  memorialized  the  Government  in 
favor  of  the  embargo,  which  almost  annihilated  the 
commerce  of  the  port,  the  name  of  John  Jacob  Astor 
headed  the  list  of  signatures. 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

HE  RETIRES  FROM  BUSINESS  AND  BUILDS  THE  ASTOR 
HOUSE. 

HE  was  an  active  business  man  in  this  city  for  about 
forty-six  years — from  his  twenty -first  to  his  sixty -sev 
enth  year.  Toward  the  year  1830  he  began  to  with 
draw  from  business,  and  undertook  no  new  enterprises 
except  such  as  the  investment  of  his  income  involved. 
His  three  daughters  were  married.  His  son  and  heir 
was  a  man  of  thirty.  Numerous  grandchildren  were 
around  him,  for  whom  he  manifested  a  true  German 
fondness;  not,  however,  regarding  them  with  equal 
favor.  He  dispensed,  occasionally,  a  liberal  hospital 
ity  at  his  modest  house,  though  that  hospitality  was 
usually  bestowed  upon  men  whose  presence  at  his 
table  conferred  distinction  upon  him  who  sat  at  the 
head  of  it.  He  was  fond,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  of 
the  society  of  literary  men.  For  Washington  Irving 
he  always  professed  a  warm  regard,  liked  to  have  him 
at  his  house,  visited  him,  and  made  much  of  him.  Fitz- 
Greene  Halleck,  one  of  the  best  talkers  of  his  day,  a 
man  full  of  fun,  anecdote,  and  fancy,  handsome,  grace 
ful,  and  accomplished,  was  a  great  favorite  with  him. 
He  afterward  invited  the  poet  to  reside  with  him  and 
take  charge  of  his  affairs,  which  Mr.  Halleck  did  for 


72  THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

many  years,  to  the  old  gentleman's  perfect  satisfaction. 
Still  later  Dr.  Cogswell  won  his  esteem,  and  was  named 
by  him  Librarian  of  the  Astor  Library.  For  his  own 
part,  though  he  rather  liked  to  be  read  to  in  his  latter 
days,  he  collected  no  library,  no  pictures,  no  objects 
of  curiosity.  As  he  had  none  of  the  wasteful  vices, 
so  also  he  had  none  of  the  costly  tastes.  Like  all  other 
rich  men,  he  was  beset  continually  by  applicants  for 
pecuniary  aid,  especially  by  his  own  countrymen.  As 
a  rule  he  refused  to  give :  and  he  was  right.  He  held 
beggary  of  all  descriptions  in  strong  contempt,  and 
seemed  to  think  that,  in  this  country,  want  and  fault 
are.  synonymous.  Nevertheless,  we  are  told  that  he 
did,  now  and  then,  bestow  small  sums  in  charity, 
though  we  have  failed  to  get  trustworthy  evidence  of 
a  single  instance  of  his  doing  so.  It  is,  no  doubt,  ab 
solutely  necessary  for  a  man  who  is  notoriously  rich  to 
guard  against  imposture,  and  to  hedge  himself  about 
against  the  swarms  of  solicitors  who  pervade  a  large 
and  wealthy  city.  If  he  did  not,  he  would  be  over 
whelmed  and  devoured.  His  time  would  be  all  con 
sumed  and  his  estate  squandered  in  satisfying  the  de 
mands  of  importunate  impudence.  Still,  among  the 
crowd  of  applicants  there  is  here  and  there  one  whose 
claim  upon  the  aid  of  the  rich  man  is  just.  It  were 
much  to  be  desired  that  a  way  should  be  devised  by 
which  these  meritorious  askers  could  be  sifted  from 
the  mass,  and  the  nature  of  their  requests  made  known 
to  men  who  have  the  means  and  the  wish  to  aid  such. 
Some  kind  of  Benevolent  Intelligence  Office  appears 
to  be  needed  among  us.  In  the  absence  of  such  an 
institution  we  must  not  be  surprised  that  men  renown- 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN"  JACOB  ASTOR.  73 

ed  for  their  wealth  convert  themselves  into  human  por 
cupines,  and  erect  their  defensive  armor  at  the  ap 
proach  of  every  one  who  carries  a  subscription*book. 
True,  a  generous  man  might  establish  a  private  bureau 
of  investigation ;  but  a  generous  man  is  not  very 
likely  to  acquire  a  fortune  of  twenty  millions.  Such 
an  accumulation  of  wealth  is  just  as  wise  as  if  a  man 
who  had  to  walk  ten  miles  on  a  hot  day  should,  of  his 
own  choice,  carry  on  his  back  a  large  sack  of  potatoes. 
A  man  of  superior  sense  and  feeling  will  not  waste  his 
life  so  unless  he  has  in  view  a  grand  public  object. 
On  the  contrary,  he  will  rather  do  as  Franklin  did, 
who,  having  acquired  at  the  age  of  forty- two  a  modest 
competence,  sold  out  his  thriving  business  on  easy 
terms  to  a  younger  man,  and  devoted  the  rest  of  his 
happy  life  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  and  the  serv 
ice  of  his  country.  But  we  can  not  all  be  Franklins. 
In  the  affairs  of  the  world  millionaires  are  as  indis 
pensable  as  philosophers ;  and  it  is  fortunate  for  so 
ciety  that  some  men  take  pleasure  in  heaping  up  enor 
mous  masses  of  capital. 

Having  retired  from  business,  Mr.  Astor  determined 
to  fulfill  the  vow  of  his  youth,  and  build  in  Broadway 
a  house  larger  and  costlier  than  any  it  could  then 
boast  Behold  the  result  in  the  Astor  House,  which 
remains  to  this  day  one  of  our  most  solid,  imposing, 
and  respectable  structures.  The  ground  on  which  the 
hotel  stands  was  covered  with  substantial  three-story 
brick  houses,  one  of  which  Astor  himself  occupied ; 
and  it  was  thought  at  the  time  a  wasteful  and  rash 
proceeding  to  destroy  them.  Old  Mr.  Coster,  a  retired 
merchant  of  great  wealth,  who  lived  next  door  to  Mr. 


74  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

Astor's  residence,  was  extremely  indisposed  to  remove, 
and  held  out  long  against  every  offer  of  the  million 
aire.  His  house  was  worth  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
Astor  offered  him  that  sum ;  but  the  offer  was  very 
positively  declined,  and  the  old  gentleman  declared  it 
to  be  his  intention  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days 
in  the  house.  Mr.  Astor  offered  forty  thousand  with 
out  effect.  At  length  the  indomitable  projector  re 
vealed  his  purpose  to  his  neighbor. 

"Mr.  Coster,"  said  he,  "I  want  to  build  a  hotel. 
I  have  got  all  the  other  lots ;  now  name  your  own 
price." 

To  which  Coster  replied  by  confessing  the  real  ob 
stacle  to  the  sale. 

"The  fact  is,"  said  he,  "I  can't  sell  unless  Mrs. 
Coster  consents.  If  she  is  willing,  I'll  sell  for  sixty 
thousand,  and  you  can  call  to-morrow  morning  and 
ask  her." 

Mr.  Astor  presented  himself  at  the  time  named. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Astor,"  said  the  lady  in  the  tone  of  one 
who  was  conferring  a  very  great  favor  for  nothing, 
"  we  are  such  old  friends  that  I  am  willing  for  your 
sake." 

So  the  house  was  bought,  and  with  the  proceeds  Mr. 
Coster  built  the  spacious  granite  mansion  a  mile  up 
Broadway,  which  is  now  known  as  the  Chinese  Build 
ing.  Mr.  Astor  used  to  relate  this  story  with  great 
glee.  He  was  particularly  amused  at  the  simplicity 
of  the  old  lady  in  considering  it  a  great  favor  to  him 
to  sell  her  house  aC  twice  its  value.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  he  removed  to  a  wide,  two  story  brick  house 
opposite  Niblo's,  the  front  door  of  which  bore  a  large 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.  75 

silver  plate,  exhibiting  to  awe-struck  passers-by  the 
words:  "ME.  ASTOE."  Soon  after  the  hotel  was 
finished,  he  made  a  present  of  it  to  his  eldest  son,  or, 
in  legal  language,  he  sold  it  to  him  for  the  sum  of  one 
dollar,  "  to  him  in  hand  paid." 

In  the  decline  of  his  life,  when  his  vast  fortune  was 
safe  from  the  perils  of  business,  he  was  still  as  sparing 
in  his  personal  expenditures,  as  close  in  his  bargains, 
as  watchful  over  his  accumulations  as  he  had  been 
when  econonry  was  essential  to  his  solvency  and  pro 
gress.  He  enjoyed  keenly  the  consciousness,  the  feel 
ing  of  being  rich.  The  roll-book  of  his  possessions 
was  his  Bible.  He  scanned  it  fondly,  and  saw  with 
quiet  but  deep  delight  the  catalogue  of  his  property 
lengthening  from  month  to  month.  The  love  of  accu 
mulation  grew  with  his  years  until  it  ruled  him  like  a 
tyrant.  If  at  fifty  he  possessed  his  millions,  at  sixty- 
five  his  millions  possessed  him.  Only  to  his  own 
children  and  to  their  children  was  he  liberal ;  and  his 
liberality  to  them  was  all  arranged  with  a  view  to 
keeping  his  estate  in  the  family,  and  to  cause  it  at 
every  moment  to  tend  toward  a  final  consolidation  in 
one  enormous  mass.  He  was  ever  considerate  for  the 
comfort  of  his  imbecile  son.  One  of  his  last  enter 
prises  was  to  build  for  him  a  commodious  residence. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

HIS    VISIT    TO    EUROPE. 

IN  1832,  one  of  his  daughters  having  married  a 
European  nobleman,  he  allowed  himself  the  pleasure 
of  a  visit  to  her.  He  remained  abroad  till  1835,  when 
he  hurried  home  in  consequence  of  the  disturbance  in 
financial  affairs,  caused  by  General  Jackson's  war  upon 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  The  captain  of  the 
ship  in  which  he  sailed  from  Havre  to  New-York  has 
related  to  us  some  curious  incidents  of  the  voyage. 
Mr.  Astor  reached  Havre  when  the  ship,  on  the  point 
of  sailing,  had  every  state-room  engaged ;  but  he  was 
so  anxious  to  get  home,  that  the  captain,  who  had 
commanded  ships  for  him  in  former  years,  gave  up  to 
him  his  own  state-room.  Head  winds  and  boisterous 
seas  kept  the  vessel  beating  about  and  tossing  in  the 
channel  for  many  days.  The  great  man  was  very 
sick  and  still  more  alarmed.  At  length,  being  per 
suaded  that  he  should  not  survive  the  voyage,  he  ask 
ed  the  captain  to  run  in  and  set  him  ashore  on  the 
coast  of  England.  The  captain  dissuaded  him.  The 
old  man  urged  his  request  at  every  opportunity,  and 
said  at  last:  "I  give  you  tousand  dollars  to  put  me 
aboard  a  pilot-boat."  He  was  so  vehement  and  impor 
tunate,  that  one  day  the  captain,  worried  out  of  all 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.  77 

patience,  promised  that  if  he  did  not  get  out  of  the 
Channel  before  the  next  morning,  he  would  run  in  and 
put  him  ashore.  It  happened  that  the  wind  changed 
in  the  afternoon  and  wafted  the  ship  into  the  broad 
ocean.  But  the  troubles  of  the  sea-sick  millionaire 
had  only  just  begun.  A  heavy  gale  of  some  days' 
duration  blew  the  vessel  along  the  western  coast  of 
Ireland.  Mr.  Astor,  thoroughly  panic-stricken,  now 
offered  the  captain  ten  thousand  dollars  if  he  would 
put  him  ashore  anywhere  on  the  wild  and  rocky  coast 
of  the  Emerald  Isle.  In  vain  the  captain  remonstrat 
ed.  In  vain  he  reminded  the  old  gentleman  of  the 
danger  of  forfeiting  his  insurance. 

"Insurance!"  exclaimed  Astor,  "can't  I  insure  your 
ship  myself?" 

In  vain  the  captain  mentioned  the  rights  of  the 
other  passengers.  In  vain  he  described  the  solitary 
and  rock-bound  coast,  and  detailed  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  which  attended  its  approach.  Nothing  would 
appease  him.  He  said  he  would  take  all  the  responsi 
bility,  brave  all  the  perils,  endure  all  the  consequences  ; 
only  let  him  once  more  feel  the  firm  ground  under  his 
feet.  The  gale  having  abated,  the  captain  yielded  to 
his  entreaties,  and  engaged,  if  the  other  passengers 
would  consent  to  the  delay,  to  stand  in  and  put  him 
ashore.  Mr.  Astor  went  into  the  cabin  and  proceeded 
to  write  what  was  expected  to  be  a  draft  for  ten  thou 
sand  dollars  in  favor  of  the  owners  of  the  ship  on  his 
agent  in  New- York.  He  handed  to  the  captain  the 
result  of  his  efforts.  It  was  a  piece  of  paper  covered 
with  writing  that  was  totally  illegible. 

"  What  is  this  ?"  asked  the  captain. 


78  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

"A. draft  upon  my  son  for  ten  thousand  dollars," 
was  the  reply. 

"  But  no  one  can  read  it. 

"  Oh !  yes,  my  son  will  know  what  it  is.  My  hand 
trembles  so  that  I  can  not  write  any  better." 

"But,"  said  the  captain,  "you  can  at  least  write 
your  name.  I  am  acting  for  the  owners  of  the  ship, 
and  I  can  not  risk  their  property  for  a  piece  of  paper 
that  no  one  can  read.  Let  one  of  the  gentlemen  draw 
up  a  draft  in  proper  form ;  you  sign  it ;  and  I  will  put 
you  ashore." 

The  old  gentleman  would  not  consent  to  this  mode 
of  proceeding,  and  the  affair  was  dropped. 

A  favorable  wind  blew  the  ship  swiftly  on  her  way, 
and  Mr.  Astor's  alarm  subsided.  But  even  on  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland,  two  thirds  of  the  way  across, 
when  the  captain  went  upon  the  poop  to  speak  a  ship 
bound  for  Liverpool,  old  Astor  climbed  up  after  him, 
saying :  "  Tell  them  I  give  tousand  dollars  if  they  take 
a  passenger.7' 


CHAPTEK    XVI. 

HIS  LAST  YEARS. 

ASTOR  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-four.  During  the 
last  few  years  of  his  life  his  faculties  were  sensibly  im 
paired  ;  he  was  a  child  again.  It  was,  however,  while 
his  powers  and  his  judgment  were  in  full  vigor  that  he 
determined  to  follow  the  example  of  Girard,  and  be 
queath  a  portion  of  his  estate  for  the  purpose  of  "  ren 
dering  a  public  benefit  to  the  city  of  New-York."  He 
consulted  Mr.  Irving,  Mr.  Halleck,  Dr.  Cogswell,  and 
his  own  son  with  regard  to  the  object  of  this  bequest. 
All  his  friends  concurred  in  recommending  a  public 
library,  and,  accordingly,  in  1839,  he  added  the  well- 
known  codicil  to  his  will  which  consecrated  four  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  to  this  purpose.  To  Irving's 
Astoria  and  to  the  Astor  Library  he  will  owe  a  lasting 
fame  in  the  country  of  his  adoption. 

The  last  considerable  sum  he  was  ever  known  to 
give  away  was  a  contribution  to  aid  the  election  to  the 
Presidency  of  his  old  friend,  Henry  Clay.  The  old 
man  was  always  fond  of  a  compliment,  and  seldom 
averse  to  a  joke.  It  was  the  timely  application  of  a 
jocular  compliment  that  won  from  him  this  last  effort 
of  generosity.  When  the  committee  were  presented 


80       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

to  him  he  began  to  excuse  himself,  evidently  intend 
ing  to  decline  giving. 

"I  am  not  now  interested  in  these  things,"  said  he. 
"Those  gentlemen  who  are  in  business,  and  whose 
property  depends  upon  the  issue  of  the  election,  ought 
to  give.  But  I  am  now  an  old  man.  I  haven't  any 
thing  to  do  with  commerce,  and  it  makes  no  difference 
to  me  what  the  Government  does.  I  don't  make  mo 
ney  any  more,  and  haven't  any  concern  in  the  matter." 

One  of  the  committee  replied :  "  Why,  Mr.  Astor, 
you  are  like  Alexander  when  he  wept  because  there 
were  no  more  worlds  to  conquer.  You  have  made  all 
the  money,  and  now  there  is  no  more  money  to  make." 
The  old  eye  twinkled  at  the  blended  compliment  and 
jest. 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!  very  good,  that's  very  good.  Well, 
well,  I  give  you  something." 

Whereupon  he  drew  his  check  for  fifteen  hundred 
dollars. 

When  all  else  had  died  within  him,  when  he  was  at  last 
nourished  like  an  infant  at  a  woman's  breast,  and  when 
being  no  longer  able  to  ride  in  a  carriage,  he  was  daily 
tossed  in  blanket  for  exercise,  he  still  retained  a  strong 
interest  in  the  care  and  increase  of  his  property.  His 
agent  called  daily  upon  him  to  render  a  report  of  mo 
neys  received.  One  morning  this  gentleman  chanced 
to  enter  his  room  while  he  was  enjoying  his  blanket 
exercise.  The  old  man  cried  out  from  the  middle  of 
his  blanket : 

"  Has  Mrs. paid  that  rent  yet?" 

"  No,"  replied  the  agent. 

"  Well,  but  she  must  pay  it,"  said  the  poor  old  man. 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB.  81 

"Mr.  Astor,"  rejoined  the  agent,  "she  can't  pay  it 
now ;  she  has  had  misfortunes,  and  we  must  give  her 
time." 

"No,  no,"  said  Astor;  "I  tell  you  she  can  pay  it, 
and  she  will  pay  it.  You  don't  go  the  right  way  to 
work  with  her." 

The  agent  took  leave,  and  mentioned  the  anxiety  of 
the  old  gentleman  with  regard  to  this  unpaid  rent  to 
his  son,  who  counted  out  the  requisite  sum,  and  told 
the  agent  to  give  it  to  the  old  man  as  if  he  had  received 
it  from  the  tenant. 

"  There !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Astor  when  he  received 
the  money,  "  I  told  you  she  would  pay  it  if  you  went 
the  right  way  to  work  with  her." 

Who  would  have  twenty  millions  at  such  a  price  ? 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  1848,  of  old  age 
merely,  in  the  presence  of  his  family  and  friends,  with 
out  pain  or  disquiet,  this  remarkable  man  breathed  his 
last.  He  was  buried  in  a  vault  in  the  church  of  St. 
Thomas  in  Broadway.  Though  he  expressly  declared 
in  his  will  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Ger 
man  Congregation,  no  clergyman  of  that  Church  took 
part  in  the  services  of  his  funeral.  The  unusual  num 
ber  of  six  Episcopal  Doctors  of  Divinity  assisted  at  the 
ceremony.  A  bishop  could  have  scarcely  expected  a 
more  distinguished  funeral  homage.  Such  a  thing  it 
is  in  a  commercial  city  to  die  worth  twenty  millions ! 
The  pall-bearers  were  Washington  Irving,  Philip  Hone, 
Sylvanus  Miller,  James  Gr.  King,  Isaac  Bell,  David  B. 
Ogden,  Thomas  J.  Oakley,  Ramsey  Crooks,  and  Jacob 
B.  Taylor. 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

HOW   HE  DISPOSED   OF  HIS  PROPERTY. 

THE  public  curiosity  with  regard  to  the  will  of  the 
deceased  millionaire  was  fully  gratified  by  the  saucy 
enterprise  of  the  Herald,  which  published  it  entire  in 
five  columns  of  its  smallest  type  a  day  or  two  after  the 
funeral.  The  ruling  desires  of  Mr.  Astor  with  regard 
to  his  property  were  evidently  these  two :  1.  To  pro 
vide  amply  and  safely  for  his  children,  grandchildren, 
nephews,  and  nieces ;  2.  To  keep  his  estate,  as  much 
as  was  consistent  with  his  desire,  in  one  mass  in  the 
hands  of  his  eldest  son.  His  brother  Henry,  the  butch 
er,  had  died  childless  and  rich,  leaving  his  property  to 
Mr.  William  B.  Astor.  To  the  descendants  of  the 
brother  in  Germany  Mr.  Astor  left  small  but  sufficient 
pensions.  To  many  of  his  surviving  children  and 
grandchildren  in  America  he  left  life-interests  and 
stocks  which  seem  designed  to  produce  an  average  of 
about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Other  grand 
sons  were  to  have  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  on 
reaching  the  age  of  twenty -five,  and  the  same  sum 
when  they  were  thirty.  His  favorite  grandson,  Charles 
Astor  Bristed,  since  well  known  to  the  public  as  an 
author  and  poet,  was  left  amply  provided  for.  He  di 
rected  his  executors  to  "  provide  for  my  unfortunate 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.  83 

son,  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  to  procure  for  him  all  the 
comforts  which  his  condition  does  or  may  require."  For 
this  purpose  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  was  directed 
to  be  appropriated,  and  the  house  built  for  him  in  Four 
teenth  street  near  Ninth  avenue  was  to  be  his  for  life. 
If  he  should  be  restored  to  the  use  of  his  faculties,  he 
was  to  have  an  income  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars.  The  number  of  persons,  all  relatives  or  connec 
tions  of  the  deceased,  who  were  benefited  by  the  will, 
was  about  twenty-five.  To  his  old  friend  and  man 
ager,  Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  he  left  the  somewhat  ridi 
culous  annuity  of  two  hundred  dollars,  which  Mr.  Wil 
liam  B.  Astor  voluntarily  increased  to  fifteen  hundred. 
Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  in  which  the  heir  recti 
fied  the  errors  and  supplied  the  omissions  of  the  will. 
He  had  the  justice  to  send  a  considerable  sum  to  the 
brave  old  captain  who  saved  for  Mr.  Astor  the  large 
property  in  China  imperiled  by  the  sudden  death  of  an 
agent.  The  minor  bequests  and  legacies  of  Mr.  Astor 
absorbed  about  two  millions  of  his  estate.  The  rest 
of  his  property  fell  to  his  eldest  son,  under  whose  care 
ful  management  it  is  supposed  to  have  increased  to  an 
amount  not  less  than  forty  millions.  This  may,  how 
ever,  be  an  exaggeration.  Mr.  William  B.  Astor  minds 
his  own  business,  and  does  not  impart  to  others  the 
secrets  of  his  rent-roll.  The  number  of  his  houses  in 
this  city  is  said  to  be  seven  hundred  and  twenty. 

The  bequests  of  Mr.  Astor  for  purposes  of  benevo 
lence  show  good  sense  and  good  feeling.  The  Astor 
Library  fund  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  was 
the  largest  item.  Next  in  amount  was  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  his  native  village 


84       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

in  Germany.  "  To  the  German  Society  of  New- York/ 
continued  the  will,  *'  I  give  thirty  thousand  dollars  on 
condition  of  their  investing  it  in  bond  and  mortgage, 
and  applying  it  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  an  office 
and  giving  advice  and  information  without  charge  to 
all  emigrants  arriving  here,  and  for  the  purpose  of  pro 
tecting  them  against  imposition."  To  the  Home  for 
Aged  Ladies  he  gave  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  to 
the  Blind  Asylum  and  the  Half-Orphan  Asylum  each 
five  thousand  dollars.  To  the  German  Keformed  Con 
gregation,  "of  which  I  am  a  member,"  he  left  the 
moderate  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars.  These  objects 
were  wisely  chosen.  The  sums  left  for  them,  also,  were 
in  many  cases  of  the  amount  most  likely  to  be  well 
employed.  Twenty -five  thousand  dollars  he  left  to 
Columbia  College,  but  unfortunately  repented,  and  an 
nulled  the  bequest  in  a  codicil. 

We  need  not  enlarge  on  the  success  which  has  at 
tended  the  bequest  for  the  Astor  Library — a  bequest 
to  which  Mr.  William  B.  Astor  has  added,  in  land, 
books,  and  money,  about  two  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars.  It  is  the  ornament  and  boast  of  the  city.  Noth 
ing  is  wanting  to  its  complete  utility  but  an  exten 
sion  of  the  time  of  its  being  accessible  to  the  public. 
Such  a  library,  in  such  a  city  as  this,  should  be  open 
at  sunrise,  and  close  at  ten  in  the  evening.  If  but  one 
studious  youth  should  desire  to  avail  himself  of  the 
morning  hours  before  going  to  his  daily  work,  the  in 
terests  of  that  one  would  justify  the  directors  in  open 
ing  the  treasures  of  the  library  at  the  rising  of  the  sun. 
In  the  evening,  of  course,  the  library  would  probably 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       85 

be  attended  by  a  greater  number  of  readers  than  in  all 
the  hours  of  the  day  together. 

The  bequest  to  the  village  of  Waldorf  has  resulted 
in  the  founding  of  an  institution  that  appears  to  be  do 
ing  a  great  deal  of  good  in  a  quiet  German  manner. 
The  German  biographer  of  Mr.  Astor,  from  whom  we 
have  derived  some  particulars  of  his  early  life,  expa 
tiates  upon  the  merits  of  this  establishment,  which,  he 
informs  us,  is  called  the  Astor  House. 

"  Certain  knowledge,"  he  says,  "  of  Astor's  bequest 
reached  Waldorf  only  in  1850,  when  a  nephew  of  Mr. 
Astor's  and  one  of  the  executors  of  his  will  appeared 
from  New- York  in  the  testator's  native  town  with 
power  to  pay  over  the  money  to  the  proper  persons. 
He  kept  himself  mostly  in  Heidelberg,  and  organized 
a  supervisory  board  to  aid  in  the  disposition  of  the 
funds  in  accordance  with  the  testator's  intentions. 
This  board  was  to  have  its  headquarters  in  Heidel 
berg,  and  was  to  consist  of  professors  in  the  University 
there,  and  clergymen,  not  less  than  five  in  all.  The 
board  of  control,  however,  consists  of  the  clergy  of 
Waldorf,  the  burgomaster,  the  physician,  a  citizen 
named  every  three  years  by  the  Common  Council,  and 
the  governor  of  the  Institution,  who  must  be  a  teacher 
by  profession.  This  latter  board  has  control  of  all  the 
interior  arrangements  of  the  Institution,  and  the  care 
of  the  children  and  beneficiaries.  The  leading  objects 
of  the  Astor  House  are :  1.  The  care  of  the  poor,  who, 
through  age,  disease,  or  other  causes,  are  incapable  of 
labor ;  2.  The  rearing  and  instruction  of  poor  children, 
especially  those  who  live  in  Waldorf.  Non-residents 
are  received  if  there  is  room,  but  they  must  make  com- 


86       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK. 

pensation  for  their  board  and  instruction.  Children 
are  received  at  the  age  of  six,  and  maintained  until 
they  are  fifteen  or  sixteen.  Besides  school  instruction, 
there  is  ample  provision  for  physical  culture.  They 
are  trained  in  active  and  industrious  habits,  and  each 
of  them,  according  to  his  disposition,  is  to  be  taught 
a  trade,  or  instructed  in  agriculture,  market-gardening, 
the  care  of  vineyards,  or  of  cattle,  with  a  view  to  ren 
dering  them  efficient  farm-servants  or  stewards.  It  is 
also  in  contemplation  to  assist  the  blind  and  the  deaf 
and  dumb,  and,  finally,  to  establish  a  nursery  for  very 
young  children  left  destitute.  Catholics  and  Protest 
ants  are  admitted  on  equal  terms,  religious  differences 
not  being  recognized  in  the  applicants  for  admission. 
Some  time  having  elapsed  before  the  preliminary  ar 
rangements  were  completed,  the  accumulated  interest 
of  the  fund  went  so  far  toward  paying  for  the  build 
ings,  that  of  the  original  fifty  thousand  dollars  not  less 
than  forty-three  thousand  have  been  permanently  in 
vested  for  the  support  of  the  Institution." 

Thus  they  manage  bequests  in  Germany !  The 
Astor  House  was  opened  with  much  ceremony,  Janu 
ary  9,  1854,  the  very  year  in  which  the  Astor  Library 
was  opened  to  the  public  in  the  city  of  New- York. 
The  day  of  the  founder's  death  is  annually  celebrated 
in  the  chapel  of  the  Institution,  which  is  adorned  by 
his  portrait. 


CHAPTER    XYIII. 

THE  ASTOK  ESTATE  NOW. 

THESE  two  institutions  will  carry  the  name  of  John 
Jacob  Astor  to  the  latest  generations.  But  they  are 
not  the  only  services  which  he  rendered  to  the  public. 
It  would  be  absurd  to  contend  that  in  accumulating 
his  enormous  estate,  and  in  keeping  it  almost  entire  in 
the  hands  of  his  eldest  son,  he  was  actuated  by  a  re 
gard  for  the  public  good.  He  probably  never  thought 
of  the  public  good  in  connection  with  the  bulk  of  his 
property.  Nevertheless,  America  is  so  constituted 
that  every  man  in  it  of  force  and  industry  is  neccessi- 
tated  to  be  a  public  servant.  If  this  colossal  fortune 
had  been  gained  in  Europe  it  would  probably  have 
been  consumed  in  what  is  there  called  "  founding  a 
family."  Mansions  would  have  been  built  with  it, 
parks  laid  out,  a  title  of  nobility  purchased ;  and  the 
income,  wasted  in  barren  and  stupid  magnificence 
would  have  maintained  a  host  of  idle,  worthless,  and 
pampered  menials.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  ex 
pended  almost  wholly  in  providing  for  the  people  of 
New- York  the  very  commodity  of  which  they  stand  in 
most  pressing  need ;  namely,  new  houses.  The  simple 
reason  why  the  rent  of  a  small  house  in  New- York  is 
a  thousand  dollars  a  year  is  because  the  supply  of 


88  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN"   JACOB   ASTOR. 

houses  is  unequal  to  the  demand.  We  need  at  this 
moment  five  thousand  more  houses  in  the  city  of  New- 
York  for  the  decent  accommodation  of  its  inhabitants 
at  rents  which  they  can  afford  to  pay.  The  man  who 
does  more  than  any  one  else  to  supply  the  demand  for 
houses  is  the  patient,  abstemious,  and  laborious  heir 
of  the  Astor  estate.  He  does  a  good  day's  work  for 
us  in  this  business  every  day,  and  all  the  wages  he  re 
ceives  for  so  much  care  and  toil  is  a  moderate  subsist 
ence  for  himself  and  his  family,  and  the  very  trouble 
some  reputation  of  being  the  richest  man  in  America 
And  the  business  is  done  with  the  minimum  of  waste 
in  every  department.  In  a  quiet  little  office  in  Prince 
street,  the  manager  of  the  estate,  aided  by  two  or  three 
aged  clerks,  (one  of  them  of  fifty -five  years'  standing  in 
the  office,)  transacts  the  business  of  a  property  larger 
than  tha"  of  many  sovereign  princes.  Every  thing, 
also,  is  done  promptly  and  in  the  best  manner.  If  a 
tenant  desires  repairs  or  alterations,  an  agent  calls  at 
the  house  within  twenty-four  hours,  makes  the  requi 
site  inquiries,  reports,  and  the  work  is  forthwith  begun, 
or  the  tenant  is  notified  that  it  will  not  be  done.  The 
concurrent  testimony  of  Mr.  Astor's  tenants  is,  that  he 
is  one  of  the  most  liberal  and  obliging  of  landlords. 

So  far,  therefore,  the  Astor  estate,  immense  as  it  is, 
appears  to  have  been  an  unmixed  good  to  the  city  in 
which  it  is  mainly  invested.  There  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that,  in  the  hands  of  the  next  heir,  it  will  con 
tinue  to  be  managed  with  the  same  prudence  and 
economy  that  mark  the  conduct  of  its  present  propri 
etor.  We  indulge  the  hope  that  either  the  present  or 
some  future  possessor  may  devote  a  portion  of  his  vast 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  89 

revenue  to  the  building  of  a  new  order  of  tenement 
houses,  on  a  scale  that  will  enable  a  man  who  earns  a 
dollar  and  a  half  a  day  to  occupy  apartments  fit  for  the 
residence  of  a  family  of  human  beings.  The  time  is 
ripe  for  it.  May  we  live  to  see  in  some  densely -popu 
lated  portion  of  the  city,  a  new  and  grander  ASTOR 
HOUSE  arise,  that  shall  demonstrate  to  the  capitalists 
of  every  city  in  America  that  nothing  will  pay  better 
as  an  investment  than  HOUSES  FOR  THE  PEOPLE,  which 
shall  afford  to  an  honest  laborer  rooms  in  a  clean,  or 
derly,  and  commodious  palace  at  the  price  he  now  pays 
for  a  corner  of  a  dirty  fever-breeding  barrack ! 


THE  WILL  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 


IN  THE  NAME  OF  GOD,  AMEN  : 

I,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  of  the  city  of  New- York,  desiring  to  dis 
pose  of  all  the  real  and  personal  estate  to  which  I  may  be  enti 
tled,  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  in  the  manner  hereinafter  ex 
pressed,  do  make  this  my  last  Will  and  Testament. 

1st.  To  MY  DAUGHTER  DOROTHEA,  wife  of  Walter  Langdon, 
Esquire,  I  give  and  bequeath  all  my  household  furniture  ;  also 
the  use,  during  her  life,  of  all  my  silver  plate,  my  new  service 
of  plate  excepted.  Also,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  her  for  her  life, 
the  income  of  the  following  stocks,  debt,  and  money :  that  is  to 
say,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the  debt  of  the  city  of  New- 
York,  bearing  five  per  cent  interest ;  Jive  hundred  shares  of  the 
capital  stock  of  the  Bank  of  America  ;  one  thousand  shares  of 
the  capital  stock  of  the  Manhattan  Company  ;  twenty  five  thou 
sand  dollars,  deposited  with  the  New- York  Life  Insurance  and 
Trust  Company,  (for  which  I  hold  certificates ;)  all  which  in 
come  I  devote  expressly  to  her  sole  and  separate  use — to  be  at 
her  own  disposal  when  received  by  her,  and  not  otherwise,  and 
to  be  free  from  all  claim,  interest,  or  interference  of  her  husband. 
And  to  enable  her  to  receive  the  said  income,  I  order  my  execu 
tors,  (in  whose  names  the  funds  aforesaid  are  to  stand  during  the 
life  of  my  said  daughter,)  from  time  to  time,  as  she  may  request, 
to  execute  such  revocable  letters  of  attorney  as  may  be  requisite 
to  enable  her  to  receive  the  said  income. 

Also,  I  devise  to  her  the  house  and  lot  on  Lafayette  Place  in 
the  city  of  New- York,  being  twenty  feet  six  inches  wide,  and 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.  91 

one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  six  inches  deep,  now  occupied 
by  her,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  during  her  natural  life,  free 
from  and  exclusive  of  any  interest  or  interference  of  her  husband, 
and  to  her  sole  and  separate  use. 

And  on  her  death,  I  give  the  said  plate,  (except  as  above,) 
sums  of  debt  and  deposit  and  stocks,  to  her  then  surviving  issue, 
and  their  executors  and  administrators. 

And  I  devise  the  said  house  and  lot  to  her  then  surviving  is 
sue,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever.  Intending  that  if  any 
of  her  children  shall  have  died  before  her,  leaving  issue,  such 
issue  are  together  to  take  what  their  parent  would  have  taken  if 
surviving. 

2d.  To  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR  LANGDON,  [see  codicil,]  ELIZA  As- 
TOR  LANGDON,  LOUISA  LANGDON,  WALTER  LANGDON,  Jr.,  WOOD- 
BURY  LANGDON,  CECILIA  LANGDON,  and  EUGENE  LANGDON,  child 
ren  of  my  daughter  Dorothea,  or  to  such  of  them  as  shall  survive 
me,  I  devise  all  my  lots  on  the  easterly  side  of  Lafayette  Place, 
in  the  city  of  New-York,  and  fronting  thereon.  Also,  my  lots  in 
the  rear  of  my  lots  on  the  said  easterly  side  of  Lafayette  Place, 
extending  to  the  Bowery,  and  fronting  thereon.  Also,  my  lands 
in  the  said  cit}r,  between  Charlton  street,  Morton  street,  Green 
wich  street,  and  Hudson  River,  being  one  hundred  lots,  to  have 
and  to  hold  the  same,  them  my  said  grand-children,  in  equal 
shares,  for  and  during  their  lives  respectively.  And  on  the  death 
of  each  of  them,  my  grand-children,  I  give  the  share  which  he  or 
she  shall  have  enjoyed  for  life,  to  their  surviving  issue,  in  fee 
simple,  to  be  divided  according  to  the  number  of  their  children  ; 
and  in  case  of  death  without  issue  then  surviving,  I  devise  the 
share  of  such  deceased  to  my  said  other  grand-children,  above 
named,  then  surviving,  in  fee  simple. 

3d.  To  my  said  grand-children,  JOHN  J.  A.  LANGDON,  WAL 
TER  LANGDON,  Jr.,  WOODBURY  LANGDON,  and  EUGENE  LANGDON, 
[see  codicil,]  or  to  such  of  them  as  shall  survive  me,  I  devise  the 
eight  lots  of  land  belonging  to  me,  with  the  improvements  there 
on,  fronting  on  the  easterly  side  of  Broadway,  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  between  Broome  street  and  Spring  street,  to  have  and  to 
hold  the  same  in  equal  shares,  during  their  lives  respectively  ; 


92       THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

and  on  the  death  of  each,  I  devise  the  share  to  which  he  had 
been  entitled  to  his  issue,  him  surviving,  in  equal  shares,  ac 
cording  to  the  number  of  his  children,  and  to  their  heirs  or  as 
signs  forever.  And  in  case  of  death  without  such  issue,  I  devise 
such  share  to  his  then  surviving  brothers,  and  their  heirs  and  as 
signs  forever. 

To  my  said  grand-children,  Sarah  Astor,  wife  of  Robert  Bo- 
reel,  Esq.,  Eliza  Astor,  Louisa  and  Cecilia,  or  to  such  of  them 
as  may  survive  me,  I  devise  the  four  houses  and  lots  fronting  on 
the  westerly  side  of  Broadway,  between  Prince  street  and  Hous 
ton  street,  now  known  as  numbers  579,  581,  583,  and  587,  ex 
tending  in  the  rear  to  Mercer  street ;  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
same  to  them  respectively,  in  equal  shares,  during  their  lives ; 
and  on  the  death  of  each,  I  devise  her  share  to  her  issue  then 
surviving,  to  be  divided  according  to  the  number  of  her  children, 
and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  ;  and  in  case  of  death  with 
out  issue  then  surviving,  I  devise  such  share  to  her  then  surviv 
ing  sisters,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever. 

To  each  of  my  said  grand-sons,  JOHN  J.  A.  LANGDON,  WALTER 
LANGDON,  Jr.,  WOODBUKY  LANGDON,  and  EUGENE  LANGDON,  and 
to  each  of  my  said  grand-daughters,  ELIZA,  LOUISA,  [codicil  mod 
ifies,]  and  CECILIA,  on  their  respectively  attaining  the  age  of 
twenty-four  years,  I  give  twenty-five  thousand  dollars ;  and  on 
their  respectively  attaining  the  age  of  thirty  years,  ike  further 
sum  of  twenty-Jive  thousand  dollars. 

To  my  grand-daughter  Sarah,  wife  of  Robert  Boreel,  I  give  the 
lands  and  building  now  known  as  the  City  Hotel,  in  the  city  of 
New- York,  bounded  by  Broadway,  Thames  street,  Temple 
street,  and  Cedar  street,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  for  her 
life.  On  her  death,  I  devise  the  same  to  her  then  surviving  is 
sue,  (according  to  the  number  of  her  children,)  and  to  their  heirs 
and  assigns  for  ever.  And  in  case  of  her  death  without  such 
issue,  then  I  devise  the  same  to  her  then  surviving  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever.  And  I  authorize 
her,  with  the  approbation  of  my  executors,  in  case  the  building 
shall  be  burnt  down  or  otherwise  destroyed,  to  sell  the  said 
lands,  in  fee  simple,  or  to  mortgage  the  same,  to  raise  money  for 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       93 

rebuilding  on  the  said  lands  ;  in  which  case  the  proceeds  and 
money  shall  be  received  by  my  executors  and  invested  by  them, 
and  the  income  shall  be  paid  to  the  said  Sarah  Boreel  for  her 
life,  provided  she  shall  reside  within  the  State  of  New- York  ;  but 
in  case  she  shall  not  reside  therein,  then  ten  thousand  dollars 
per  annum  of  such  income  shall  be  paid  to  her,  and  the  residue 
to  her  mother,  or,  in  case  of  her  death,  to  the  brothers  and  sis 
ters  of  the  said  Sarah.  And  on  the  death  of  the  said  Sarah,  the 
capital  shall  be  disposed  of  as  is  herein  directed  as  to  the  land 
itself,  of  which  it  is  the  proceeds. 

4th.  [Revoked  by  codicil.]  To  my  daughter  ELIZA,  WIFE  OF 
VINCENT  RUMPFF,  Esq.,  I  give  the  income,  for  her  life,  of  the  fol 
lowing  funds :  Fifty  thousand  dollars  of  the  Public  Debt  of 
Ohio,  bearing  six  per  cent  interest ;  Fifty  thousand  dollars  of 
the  debt  of  the  city  of  New  Haven,  bearing  five  and  a  half  per 
cent  interest ;  Fifty  thousand  dollars  deposited  in  the  New-York 
Life  Insurance  and  Trust  Company,  (of  which  I  have  certifi 
cates  ;)  one  thousand  shares  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Merchants' 
Bank  in  the  city  of  New- York,  and  sixteen  hundred  and  four 
shares  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Mechanics'  Bank,  in  the  city  of 
New-York.  Also,  if  she  shall  come  to  the  State  of  New- York, 
and  there  take  up  her  residence,  then  I  give  to  her  such  part  of 
my  residuary  real  estate  as  she  shall  select,  not  exceeding  in 
value  fifty  thousand  dollars,  according  to  a  just  valuation  there 
of  by  my  executors — which  estate  so  selected  shall  be  set  apart 
to  her  by  deed,  to  be  executed  by  her  and  my  executors ;  to 
have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  her  during  her  life,  if  she  shall  not 
discontinue  her  residence  in  New-York.  And  on  her  death,  I 
give  the  capital  of  the  said  funds,  and  the  said  real  estate  so  se 
lected,  to  her  then  surviving  issue,  their  heirs,  executors,  and  ad 
ministrators,  respectively,  to  be  divided  according  to  the  number 
of  her  children  ;  but  in  case  of  her  death  without  such  issue,  I 
authorize  her  to  dispose  of  the  said  funds  and  lands  by  appoint 
ments  in  the  nature  of  a  will,  in  such  manner,  and  in  such  shares, 
and  for  such  estates  as  she  may  think  fit,  to  and  amongst  all  or 
any  of  her  relations  by  consanguinity,  who  might  by  possibility 
take  lands  from  her  by  descent,  according  to  the  law  of  the  State 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

of  New-York,  as  it  shall  be  at  the  date  of  such  appointment ;  and 
in  case  of  her  death  without  such  issue,  and  not  leaving  any  such 
valid  appointment,  then  I  give  the  said  funds  and  lands,  one 
fourth  to  the  children  of  my  son,  William  B.  Astor  ;  one  half  to 
the  children  of  my  daughter,  Dorothea ;  and  one  fourth  to  my 
grand-son,  Charles  Bristed,  and  their  heirs,  executors,  and  ad 
ministrators,  respectively. 

Also,  I  give  to  my  said  daughter  Eliza,  and  to  Tier  husband, 
Vincent  Eumpff,  my  lands  and  estates  in  the  canton  of  Geneva, 
in  Switzerland,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  them  during 
their  lives  and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them  ;  and  on  the  death 
of  the  survivor,  I  give  the  same  to  her  issue  surviving  her  at  her 
death,  and  to  the  heirs,  executors,  administrators,  and  assigns 
forever— to  be  equally  divided,  according  to  the  number  of  her 
children  ;  and  I  hereby  give  her  power  to  appoint  the  said  Gen- 
evese  estates,  in  case  of  her  death  without  such  issue,  to  and 
amongst  my  grand-children,  or  to  such  one  or  more  of  them,  and 
in  such  shares,  for  such  estates,  and  on  such  conditions  as  she 
may  direct  by  instrument,  in  the  nature  of  a  will ;  and  in  case 
of  her  death  without  issue,  as  aforesaid,  and  without  leaving  any 
valid  appointment,  then  I  devise  the  said  Genevese  estates  to  my 
grand-children,  as  follows  :  One  third  to  the  children  of  William 
B.  Astor,  one  third  to  the  children  of  my  daughter,  Dorothea, 
and  one  third  to  my  grand-son,  Charles  Bristed,  and  to  their 
heirs,  executors,  and  administrators,  respectively,  forever. 

5th.  To  my  grand-son,  CHARLES  BRISTED,  I  devise  all  that  lot 
of  land  belonging  to  me,  fronting  on  the  westerly  side  of  Lafa 
yette  Place,  adjoining  my  house  now  occupied  by  my  daughter 
Dorothea,  and  being  seventy-seven  feet  six  inches  wide,  by  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  six  inches  deep.  Also,  the  lot  and 
house  now  occupied  by  me,  on  the  westerly  side  of  Broadway, 
known  as  number  585,  being  about  twenty-nine  feet  in  front  on 
Broadway,  and  twenty-five  feet  on  Mercer  street,  to  which  it  ex 
tends.  Also,  a  lot  of  land  belonging  to  me  on  the  westerly 
[easterly — see  codicil]  side  of  Broadway,  letween  Spring  street 
and  Prince  street — also,  nine  lots  of  land  on  the  Eighth  avenue 
and  Twenty-sixth  street,  seven  of  which  lie  on  the  westerly  side 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.       95 

of  the  avenue,  including  the  two  corner  lots  of  Twenty-sixth 
street,  and  two  lie  on  the  northerly  side  of  Twenty-sixth  street 
near  the  avenue.  Also,  forty-three  lots  of  land  fronting  on 
Seventh  avenue,  Bloomingdale  Road,  Thirty -seventh  'street,  and 
Fortieth  street.  Also,  eight  lots  of  land  on  Avenue  A,  between 
/Sixth  and  Seventh  streets.  Also,  my  country  seat  at  Hellgate, 
and  my  lands  there,  containing  about  thirteen  acres.  Also,  the 
twenty-two  lots  owned  by  me  in  the  block  formed  by  Hamersley 
street,  Varicfc  street,  Bedford  street,  and  Downing  street  ;  to 
have  and  to  hold,  all  and  singular,  the  said  lots  of  land  and  pre 
mises  for  and  during  his  natural  life.  Also,  I  give  to  him,  on 
his  attaining  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  the  income  and  inter 
est  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  to  be  set  apart 
by  my  executors  out  of  my  good  bonds  and  mortgages,  to  have 
and  enjoy  such  income  during  his  life.  And  as  to  the  income  of 
the  real  estate  above  devised  to  him  for  life,  I  devise  the  same 
to  my  executors  in  trust  to  receive  the  same  and  to  apply  it,  or 
so  much  and  part  thereof  as  they  may  think  fit,  to  the  use  of  the 
said  Charles  Bristed,  until  he  shall  attain  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years.  And  upon  the  death  of  the  said  Charles  Bristed,  I  give 
the  said  lands  and  capital  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  to  his  then  surviving  issue,  (to  be  divided  according  to 
the  number  of  his  children,)  and  to  their  heirs,  executors,  ad 
ministrators,  and  assigns,  respectively  forever.  And  in  case  of 
his  death  without  such  issue,  then  I  give  the  said  lands  and 
money,  one  half  to  the  children  of  my  son  William  B.  Astor,  and 
one  half  to  the  children  of  my  daughter  Dorothea  Langdon,  and 
to  their  heirs,  executors,  and  administrators,  respectively,  forever. 
6th.  To  my  grandsons,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  WILLIAM  ASTOR, 
and  HENRY  ASTOR,  sons  of  William  B.  Astor,  or  to  such  of  them 
as  may  survive  me,  I  devise  all  my  lands  lying  between  Bloom 
ingdale  Road,  Hudson  River,  Forty-second  street,  and  Fifty  first 
street,  to  be  divided  in  the  proportion  of  two  shares  to  John,  and 
one  share  each  to  William  and  Henry,  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
same  to  them  during  their  lives  respectively.  Provided,  how 
ever,  that  if  my  son  William  B.  Astor  should  consider  either  of 
them  to  have  become  unworthy  of  this  devise,  he  may  convey 


96  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

the  share  of  such  one  or  more  of  them  to  the  others  or  other,  by 
appointment  under  his  hand  and  seal ;  and  on  their  respective 
deaths,  I  devise  the  share  devised  to  each  for  life,  to  his  then  sur 
viving  issue,  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  to  be  divided 
according  to  the  number  of  his  children.  And  in  case  of  death 
without  such  issue,  then  I  devise  the  same  to  his  surviving 
brothers,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever ;  or,  in  case  they 
should  not  survive,  to  William  B.  Astor  and  his  heirs  for  ever. 

7th.  [Codicil  modifies  the  whole.]  I  direct  my  executors  to  pro 
vide  for  my  unfortunate  son,  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  to  procure 
for  him  all  the  comforts  which  his  condition  doth  or  may  admit ; 
and  to  bear  the  expense  thereof,  not  exceeding  five  thousand 
dollars  a  year ;  and  in  case  he  should  be  restored,  then  I  direct 
them  to  apply  to  his  use  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  during  his 
life ;  and  if  he  shall  leave  lawful  issue  surviving  him,  then  I 
direct  my  executors  to  pay  to  such  issue  the  sum  of  five  thou 
sand  dollars  per  annum  to  each  child  for  life.  And  my  exec 
utors  are  directed  to  set  apart  from  my  estate,  such  funds  as  in 
their  judgment  shall  be  sufficient  to  defray  these  annuities  ;  and 
also  all  other  annuities  bequeathed  in  my  will ;  which  annuities 
shall  stand  secured  on  such  funds,  exclusive  of  any  of  my  lands- 

8th.  [Revoked  by  codicil]  To  each  of  the  four  daughters  of 
my  deceased  brother  GEORGE  ASTOR,  I  give  twenty  thousand  dol 
lars  ;  to  his  sow  Joseph,  I  give  twenty -five  thousand  dollars ;  to 
his  son  WILLIAM  H.  ASTOR,  I  give  ten  thousand  dollars;  to 
GEORGE  ASTOR,  Jr.,  I  give  three  thousand  dollars  ;  to  the  widow 
of  my  said  brother  George,  I  give  two  hundred  pounds  sterling 
yearly,  for  her  life,  commencing,  the  first  payment,  one  year 
after  my  death  ;  the  same  to  be  estimated  here  at  the  current 
rate  of  exchange.  To  my  niece  Sophia  Astor,  of  Nienwid,  in 
Germany,  I  give  five  thousand  dollars.  To  my  SISTER  CATH 
ERINE,  wife  of  Michael  Miller,  I  give  one  thousand  dollars ;  to  the 
children  of  her  daughter,  MARIA  MOORE,  I  give  five  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  equally  divided  among  them,  and  to  be  paid  to  their 
mother  for  their  use. 

9th.  To  the  German  Society  of  the  City  of  New-York,  [modi 
fied  by  codicils,]  I  give  thirty  thousand  dollars,  upon  condition 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.  97 

that  they  do,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be  done  after  pay 
ment  of  the  money,  invest  and  keep  the  same  invested  in  secu 
rity  of  bond  and  mortgage  of  lands,  and  apply  the  interest  and 
income  thereof  to  establish  and  maintain  an  office,  in  some  suit 
able  place  in  the  city  of  New- York  and  proper  persons  attend 
ing,  who  shall  speak  the  German  language,  and  be  otherwise 
qualified  for  their  duty,  who  shall  attend  daily  in  such  office 
during  the  usual  hours  for  business  in  this  city,  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  advice  and  information,  without  charge,  to  all  emigrants 
arriving  here,  touching  their  establishment  here  and  their  course 
of  life ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  them  against  imposi 
tions,  to  which  strangers  without  knowledge  of  the  country  or 
its  language  may  be  exposed. 

To  the  TRUSTEES  OF  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE,  [revoked  by  codicil,] 
in  the  city  of  New- York,  I  give  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
upon  eondition  that  they  do,  within  a  reasonable  and  convenient 
time,  establish  a  professorship  of  the  German  language  and  liter 
ature,  and  do  appoint  and  continue  a  professor  therein,  of  com 
petent  learning,  who  shall  give  proper  lectures  and  instruction 
in  the  said  language  and  literature. 

To  THE  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  RESPECTABLE  AGED 
INDIGENT  FEMALES  in  the  city  of  New-York,  I  give  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  on  condition  that  they  cause  the  same  to  be 
put  out  and  kept  at  interest  on  bonds  and  mortgage  of  real  es 
tate,  and  apply  the  interest  to  the  objects  of  their  association. 

And  in  case  of  a  breach  of  any  of  the  said  conditions  or  from 
any  legal  or  other  impediment,  any  of  the  three  last  legacies  shall 
fail  to  take  effect,  then  I  give  the  same  to  my  executors,  confid 
ing  in  their  honor  alone  to  make  such  disposition  of  such  sums 
as  they  shall  deem  most  analogous  to  the  aforesaid  purposes. 

To  the  GERMAN  REFORMED  CONGREGATION  [revoked  by  codicil] 
in  the  city  of  New*-York,  of  which  I  am  a  member,  I  give  two 
thousand  dollars. 

10th.  All  the  rest,  residue,  and  remainder  of  my  real  and  per 
sonal  estate  [changed  by  codicil]  I  give  and  devise  to  my  son 
WILLIAM  B.  ASTOR,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  said  real  estate  to 
him  for  his  life.  And  I  authorize  him  to  appoint  the  same  after 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

his  death  to  and  amongst  his  children  and  their  issue  in  such 
shares  and  for  such  estates  and  on  such  conditions  as  he  may 
think  fit,  by  deed  or  by  will  ;  and  in  case  he  shall  leave  no  such 
valid  appointment,  I  devise  the  same  to  his  children  and  their 
heirs  and  assigns  forever,  including  as  well  those  now  born  as 
subsequently  born  children. 

And  I  hereby  charge  upon  the  residuary  estate  thus  devised, 
portions  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  [changed  by  codicil,] 
to  be  settled  upon  each  of  his  daughters,  and  her  issue,  in  such 
manner  as  he  may  think  fit,  subject  to  the  condition  of  their 
marrying  with  the  consent  of  himself  or  his  wife,  or  such  per 
sons  as  he  may  nominate  in  his  will,  which  portions  are  to  be 
set  apart  out  of  the  real  estate  devised  to  him  as  above,  and 
which  when  set  apart  are  not  to  form  any  incumbrance  upon  the 
residue :  and  in  case  of  his  leaving  no  appointment  as  aforesaid, 
these  portions  are  to  be  considered  as  part  of  his  daughters' 
shares  on  the  division  of  the  estate  now  devised,  among  his 
children.  And  as  to  the  personal  estate  bequeathed  to  him,  it  is 
my  will  that  he  employ  the  same  in  the  improvement  of  the  real 
estate  to  him  herein  above  devised,  in  such  manner  as  he  may 
think  fit. 

My  Service  of  Plate  above  mentioned,  I  give  to  be  used  by 
my  son  William  B.  Astor  for  life,  and  aftej*  his  death  to  such  of 
his  sons  as  he  may  appoint. 

llth.  And  considering  that  the  uncertainty  of  life  estates  may 
embarrass  the  advantageous  enjoyment  of  lands  thus  situated, 
and  considering,  also,  other  matters  of  convenience,  I  do  hereby 
AUTHORIZE  each  and  every  person  who  shall  take  an  estate  under 
this  will,  which  may  terminate  with  his  or  her  life,  to  make  any 
lease  of  the  premises  to  them  devised,  and  of  any  and  every 
part  thereof,  for  any  term  of  years  not  exceeding  twenty-one 
years  from  the  date  thereof,  with  covenants  therein  for  allowing 
to  the  lessee  or  his  assigns,  the  actual  value  at  the  termination 
of  the  lease,  of  the  buildings  then  standing  on  the  demised  prem 
ises,  and  useful  as  a  dwelling-house  or  for  any  mercantile  or  me 
chanical  business,  which  covenant  shall  bind  the  remainder  man, 
in  respect  to  such  lands,  if  he  shall  enter  thereupon ;  provided 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.       99 

that  such  leases  be  made  with  the  assent  of  one  of  my  executors, 
uniting  in  the  same  for  this  purpose,  and  that  the  fair  yearly 
value  of  the  premises  be  reserved  as  rent,  payable  annually 
without  any  anticipation  by  way  of  premium,  and  be  made  pay 
able  to  the  tenant  for  life,  and  to  the  persons  in  remainder  suc 
cessively,  according  to  the  nature  of  their  several  estates. 

Also,  I  do  authorize  any  such  tenant  for  life,  with  the  assent 
of  one  of  my  executors,  uniting  in  the  deed,  to  manifest  the 
same,  to  sell  and  convey  in  fee  simple,  to  the  extent  of  one  half 
in  value  of  the  lands  devised,  to  such  life  tenant,  in  order  to 
raise  money  for  the  improvement  of  the  residue,  for  which  appli 
cation  of  the  money  so  to  be  raised,  such  executor  shall  make 
provision  before  giving  such  assent ;  and  his  uniting  in  the  deed 
shall  make  the  same  an  effectual  conveyance  to  the  parties  ac 
cepting  the  same,  who  shall  thereby  be  freed  from  seeing  to  the 
application  of  the  purchase-moneys. 

In  case  any  of  the  stoclcs  or  funds  herein  specifically  bequeathed 
should  not  be  in  my  hands  at  my^decease,  the  several  bequests 
shall  be  made  up  by  purchases  at  the  expense  of  my  estate,  of 
stocks  or  funds  of  the  same,  or  a  similar  kind,  and  to  the  same 
amount,  at  their  par  values ;  and  in  case  any  of  the  said  stoclcs 
or  funds  should  he  paid  off  or  become,  in  the  judgment  of  my  ex 
ecutors,  insecure,  then  it  shall  be  lawful  for  them  to  sell  and  dis 
pose  of  the  same  at  the  request,  or  with  the  assent,  of  the  per 
son  entitled  to  the  income  thereof,  and  to  invest  the  proceeds  in 
such  other  safe  securities  as  my  executors  shall  think  expedient, 
and  so  on,  from  time  to  time.  But  no  change  in  the  form  of  in 
vestment  shall  change  the  right  or  interest  of  any  person  in  the 
income  and  proceeds  of  such  property. 

I  appoint  WILLIAM  B.  ASTOR,  JAMES  G.  KING,  WASHINGTON 

IRVING,  JAMES  GALLATIN, ,  to  be  executors  of  this 

my  will,  and  give  such  of  them  as  shall  act  herein,  and  the  sur 
vivors  and  survivor  of  them,  the  several  powers,  authority,  and 
discretion  herein  granted.  And  whenever,  and  as  often  as  their 
number  shall  he  reduced  to  two,  my  acting  executors  shall  ap 
point  such  proper  persons  as  they  may  select,  to  be  united  with 
them  in  the  execution  of  the  objects  of  this  will ;  and  upon  such 


100  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN   JACOB  ASTOR. 

appointment  being  accepted  and  acknowledged,  and  recorded  as 
a  deed,  the  persons  so  appointed  shall  be  invested  with  the  same 
interest,  right,  discretion,  and  control,  as  if  appointed  byname  in 
this  will ;  and  so,  from  time  to  time,  until  all  the  purposes  of  this 
will  shall  be  accomplished  or  completed.  And  I  expressly  de 
clare  that  those  who  shall  act  in  the  executorship  of  this  will 
shall  not  be  answerable  for  the  losses  which  shall  occur  through 
the  acts  of  others  of  their  number,  or  of  any  agents  by  them  em 
ployed,  nor  otherwise,  than  from  their  own  fraudulent  miscon 
duct,  and  they  shall  be  in  all  respects  indemnified  out  of  my 
estate,  and  may  employ  such  agents  and  servants  as  they  may 
deem  necessary  ;  and  may  malce  any  arrangement  for  the  settle 
ment  of  any  difficulties  which  may  arise  in  relation  to  any  of  my 
estate,  by  composition  or  arbitration,  as  they  shall  think  fit.  / 
authorize  my  executors,  at  the  request  of  any  person  or  persons 
to  whom  lands  are  herein  devised  in  common,  to  set  apart  their 
shares  in  severally  ;  and  thenceforth  the  limitations  of  future 
estates  applicable  to  the  shares  before  separation  shall  apply  to 
the  separated  share,  and  they  may  charge  the  lands  with  sums 
for  equality  of  partition. 

Lastly,  I  revoke  all  other  wills  by  me  made  prior  to  this  date, 
and  publish  and  declare  this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  signed  and  sealed  these  presents, 
this  fourth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.     [L.  s.] 

Published  in  the  presence  of  us,  before  whom  the  testator 
declared  these  presents  to  be  his  last  will  and  testament,  and 
requested  us  to  sign  our  names  as  witnesses,  which  we  do,  in 
his  presence  and  in  presence  of  each  other.  Dated,  1836,  July  4. 

HANNAH  NORMAN,  Hell-Gate,  New-York. 

DANIEL  LORD,  Jr.,  26  Beach  street,  New-York. 
Dated,  30th  Dec.  1836. 

GEO.  B.  SMITH,  640  Broadway,  New- York. 

EDWIN  SMITH,  71  Bleecker  street,  New- York. 

WM.  W.  BRUCE,  481  Houston  street 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.      101 

Declared  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Astor  to  be  his  last  will  and  testament, 
by  him  subscribed  as  such,  before  us,  signing  as  witnesses,  at 
his  request.  1845,  Jan.  11.  t 

JAS.  G.  COGSWELL,  585  Broadway,  New- York. 
CHARLES  J.  MC!LVAINE,  44  Great  Jones  street 
DANIEL  D.  LORD,  Nineteenth  street. 


A  CODICIL  TO  THE  WILL  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

IN  order  to  make  some  provisions  of  my  will  more  plain,  to 
make  some  alterations  therein,  and  to  consolidate  sundry  codicils 
thereto,  (which  codicils  I  hereby  revoke,)  I  make  this  codicil  to 
my  will,  bearing  date  the  fourth  day  of  July,  eighteen  hundred 
and  thirty-six.  And  do  declare  the  said  will  and  this  codicil  to 
contain  my  last  will. 

1st.  I  give  to  my  daughter,  DOROTHEA  LANGDON,  the  lot  on  the 
west  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  in  the  city  of  New-York,  [revoked 
in  codicil  3  March,  1841,]  twenty-seven  feet  wide,  and  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five  feet  deep,  on  the  north  side  of  the  house  and 
lot,  in  my  will  given  to  her  life  ;  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to 
her  for  life,  free  of  any  interference  of  her  husband,  and  to  her 
sole  and  separate  use,  being  the  same  lot  given  in  my  will  to 
Charles  Bristed,  and  which  I  confirm  to  him  after  Mrs.  Langdon's 
life.  And  in  relation  to  the  income  given  to  my  daughter,  Mrs. 
Langdon,  and  to  the  house  and  lots  devised  to  her  for  life ;  in 
order  the  better  to  secure  the  same  to  her,  I  devise  and  direct, 
that  in  case  her  husband,  present  or  future,  or  any  one  claiming 
under  his  act  or  default,  shall  attempt  to  interfere  with,  dispose 
of,  or  incumber  the  said  legacy  of  income  or  devise  of  land,  or 
any  part  thereof,  then  in  that  case  I  do  from  that  time  give  the  said 
income  and  lots  of  land  on  Lafayette  Place,  to  my  executors  dur 
ing  her  life  in  trust,  to  receive  the  income  and  the  rents  and  pro 
fits  of  the  land,  and  to  apply  the  same  to  the  use  of  my  said 
daughter  and  her  children,  in  such  manner  and  proportions  as  she 
may  request ;  and  should  there  be  any  surplus  of  such  income, 


102      THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

beyond  what  may  be  so  applied,  I  give  the  same  to  her  children 
from  time  to  time,  as  it  shall  accrue. 

2d.  Inasmuch  as  my  grandson,  JOHN  J.  A.  LANGDON,  has  de 
parted  this  life,  whereby  two  legacies  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  each,  have  become  lapsed,  I  therefore  add  to  the  lands  de 
vised  in  the  second  item  of  my  will  to  him  and  his  brothers  and 
sisters  in  that  item  named,  or  to  such  of  them  as  may  survive 
me,  three  lots  of  land  lying  on  the  westerly  side  of  Lafayette 
Place,  [modified  in  codicil  March  3,  1841,]  next  north  of  a  lot 
which  in  my  will  is  given  for  life  to  Charles  Bristed,  and  is  above 
given  for  her  life  to  my  daughter  ;  each  of  which  three  lots  is 
twenty-seven  feet  in  width,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  in 
depth,  subject  to,  and  with  the  benefit  of  a  gangway  running 
from  Art  street,  across  the  rear  of  the  said  lots  parallel  with 
Lafayette  Place,  and  twenty  feet  wide,  and  lying  at  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  therefrom  ;  which  three  lots  of 
land  I  give  to  my  said  grandchildren,  to  have  and  to  hold  in 
equal  shares  as  tenants  in  common  for  their  lives  respectively  ; 
and  on  the  death  of  each,  I  give  his  or  her  share  to  his  or  her 
surviving  issue  in  fee  simple,  and  in  case  of  death  without  sur 
viving  issue,  I  give  such  share  to  his  or  her  other  brothers  and 
sisters,  in  the  same  item  named,  surviving,  in  fee  simple. 

3d.  In  relation  to  the  above  lots  on  Lafayette  Place,  and  to 
the  house  and  lot  given  in  my  will  to  Mrs.  Langdon,  and  to 
Charles  Bristed  for  life,  and  in  relation  to  my  other  lots  on  the 
west  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  I  have  laid  out  the  same  so  as  to 
include  a  gangway  [revoked  March  3,  1341]  twenty  feet  wide,  as 
above  mentioned,  and  a  piece  of  land  twenty-five  feet  deep,  in  the 
rear  thereof,  for  a  stable  lot,  which  gangway  is  to  be  used  as  a 
carriage-way  by  the  residents  on  the  said  lots  appertaining 
thereto,  and  is  to  be  regulated  and  kept  in  order,  with  a  gate,  by 
such  residents  ;  each  lot  bearing  an  equal  share  of  the  expense. 
And  I  direct  and  devise  that  the  said  lots  so  given  to  Mrs.  Lang 
don  and  Charles  Bristed  shall  be  extended  so  as  to  include  each 
one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  deep  from  Lafayette  Place,  with 
the  privilege  of  such  gangway,  and  subject  thereto. 

4th.  If  the  yearly  income  (of  stocks  and  funds)  given  to  my 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.      103 

daughters,  Mrs.  Langclon  and  Mrs.  Rumpff,  respectively,  shall 
in  any  year  fall  short  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  then  the  defi 
ciency  shall  be  made  up  from  my  residuary  personal  estate,  re 
maining  in  the  hands  of  my  executors ;  but  if  such  deficiency 
shall  arise  from  any  temporary  suspension  of  dividends  or  in 
come,  not  occasioned  by  actual  losses  in  the  stocks  or  funds,  then 
such  advances  shall  be  refunded  from  the  excess  of  income  over 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  afterward  accruing  on  such 
stocks  or  funds.  Also  in  relation  to  the  real  estate  of  Mrs. 
RumpfF,  in  case  she  should  come  to  this  State  to  reside,  as  pro 
vided  in  item  fourth  of  my  will,  I  direct  that  the  selection  be 
made  by  my  executors,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  my  decease,  and 
that  upon  the  event  contemplated  in  the  said  item  of  my  will, 
she  shall  take  the  estate  therein  given  in  such  selected  land. 

5th.  I  give  to  CHARLES  BRISTED  the  lot  of  land  belonging  to  me 
lying  on  the  easterly  side  of  Broadway,  between  Prince  and 
Spring  streets,  which  is  the  lot  I  intend  in  the  fifth  item  of  my 
said  will,  wherein  the  same  is  erroneously  described  as  lying  on 
the  westerly  side  of  Broadway,  and  the  lot  now  correctly  de 
scribed,  is  hereby  given  as  the  other  lands  in  that  item  men 
tioned. 

6th.  As  to  all  my  lands  at  Green  Bay,  and  its  vicinity,  in  the 
territory  of  Wisconsin,  (in  which  there  are  others  connected  with 
me,)  and  also  as  to  all  my  lands  not  within  the  city  and  county 
of  New-York,  I  authorize  and  fully  empower  my  executors,  or 
any  two  of  them,  or  of  the  survivors  of  them,  to  seal  and  deliver 
all  deeds  of  conveyance,  in  fee  simple,  or  for  partition,  if  needed, 
and  to  execute  all  other  instruments  of  every  kind  needful,  or  in 
their  judgment  proper,  in  relation  to  the  lands  and  every  part 
thereof;  and  also  to  appoint  such  agents,  from  time  to  time,  sub 
ject  to  their  control  and  direction,  as  they  may  think  fit,  with 
the  like  powers  ;  the  proceeds  of  all  such  sales  to  be  disposed  of 
as  part  of  my  personal  estate.  And  for  the  purpose  of  such 
sales,  and  for  the  protection  of  the  lands  in  the  mean  time,  I  give 
the  same  to  my  executors,  as  joint  tenants,  and  not  as  tenants  in 
common,  in  fee  simple,  in  trust,  for  such  purposes. 

7th.  The  service  of  plate  excepted  from  the  gift  to  Mrs.  Lang- 


104      THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

don  in  my  will,  and  therein  mentioned  as  my  new  service  of 
plate,  and  given  for  the  use  of  William  B.  Astor  for  life,  I  de 
scribe  more  particularly  as  my  service  of  French  plate,  at  this 
time  in  his  possession  ;  and  in  case  he  shall  not  leave  any  ap 
pointment  of  it  among  his  children,  I  give  the  same  on  his  death 
to  his  eldest  surviving  son. 

8th.  I  revoke  and  annul  the  eighth  item  of  my  said  will,  and 
the  legacies  therein  given  ;  and  in  lieu  thereof  I  give  as  follows  : 
To  Mrs.  SARAH  OXENHAM,  [modified  in  codicil  of  March  3,  1841,] 
daughter  of  my  late  brother,  George  Astor,  I  give  thirty  thou 
sand  dollars  ;  to  his  son,  JOSEPH  ASTOR,  [modified  Oct.  24, 1839,] 
I  give  fifty  thousand  dollars;  provided,  however,  that  my  execu 
tors,  if  they  think  fit,  may  retain  the  same  in  whole  or  in  part, 
and  apply  the  same,  and  the  income  thereof,  to  his  use,  and  the 
maintenance  of  him  and  his  family  during  his  life ;  and  any  bal 
ance  is  to  be  given  to  his  children  or  next  of  kin.  To  each  of  the 
other  daughters  [modified  as  to  Mrs.  Reynell,  March  3,  1841]  of 
my  said  brother  George,  surviving  me,  I  give  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  To  WILLIAM  HENRY  ASTOR,  son  of  my  said  brother 
George.  I  give  the  annual  sum  of  Jive  hundred  dollars  during  his 
life,  commencing  the  first  payment  six  months  after  my  decease ; 
but  if  he  shall  attempt  to  assign  or  incumber  the  same,  or  it  shall 
be  claimed  by  any  of  his  creditors  under  any  legal  proceedings 
or  claim  in  the  law,  then  I  direct  my  executors  to  cease  paying 
it  to  him,  and  require  them  to  apply  the  same  in  their  discretion 
to  his  use,  maintenance,  and  support.  To  GEORGE  ASTOR,  Junior, 
I  give  three  thousand  dollars.  To  the  WIDOW  of  my  brother 
George  I  give  two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  yearly,  for  her  life, 
to  be  estimated  at  the  current  rate  of  exchange  at  the  time  of 
payment ;  the  first  payment  of  two  hundred  pounds  to  be  made 
six  months  after  my  decease,  and  then  yearly  afterward.  To  my 
niece,  SOPHIA  ASTOR,  of  Nienwid,  in  Germany,  I  give  j#«<?  thousand 
dollars.  To  the  children  of  HANNAH  MOORE,  daughter  of  my 
sister.  Catharine,  who  may  survive  me,  I  give  five  thousand  dol 
lars,  to  be  equally  divided  between  them.  To  each  of  the  child 
ren  of  GEORGE  EHNINGER,  who  may  survive  me,  I  give  one  thou 
sand  dollars.  These  legacies,  of  which  the  time  of  payment  is 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.      105 

not  above  declared,  are  to  be  paid  one  half  in  six  months,  the 
balance  in  twelve  months,  from  my  decease ;  and  my  executors 
are  to  set  apart  funds  from  my  personal  estate,  to  discharge  the 
annuities  which  are  to  be  allowed  up  to  the  death  of  the  annui 
tants. 

9th.  I  reduce  the  legacy  to  the  GERMAN  SOCIETY  OF  NEW-YORK, 
from  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
I  have  given  to  the  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  RESPECTABLE 
AGED  INDIGENT  FEMALES,  in  the  city  of  New-York,  five  thousand 
dollars,  which  is  to  be  deducted  from  the  legacy  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  'given  in  my  will.  To  the  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE 
BLIND,  in  the  city  of  New- York,  I  give  five  thousand  dollars. 
To  the  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  HALF-ORPHANS  AND  DESTITUTE 
CHILDREN,  in  the  city  of  New- York,  I  give  five  thousand  dollars. 
To  the  NEW-YORK  LYING-!N  ASYLUM  I  give  two  thousand  dollars. 
And  in  case  of  any  of  these  three  legacies  failing  to  go  into  effect, 
I  give  the  same  to  my  executors,  confiding  in  their  honor  alone, 
to  make  such  dispositions  of  such  sums  as  they  shall  deem  most 
analogous  to  the  objects  of  the  said  charities. 

10th.  I  direct  that  the  portions  of  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars,  [see  codicil,  Dec.  22,  1843,]  for  each  of  the  daughters  of  my 
son,  WILLIAM  B.  ASTOR,  shall  be  settled  on  them  on  their  re 
spectively  attaining  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  or  their  mar 
riage.  I  give  to  my  son,  WILLIAM  B.  ASTOR,  one  half  of  my 
residuary  personal  estate  absolutely  ;  and  also  the  income  of  the 
other  half,  until  he  shall  think  fit  to  expend  such  other  half  in 
the  improvement  of  my  residuary  estate ;  and  the  balance  thereof 
unexpended  at  his  death,  I  give  to  his  children,  or  to  such  of 
them,  and  in  such  manner  and  proportions  as  he  may  appoint 
by  will. 

llth.  In  case  any  devises,  bequests  or  legacies,  trusts,  powers, 
conditions,  limitations,  or  other  dispositions  or  clauses  in  my 
said  will  or  in  this  codicil,  or  in  any  subsequent  codicil,  should, 
for  any  reason,  le  deemed  invalid,  (having  intended,  however, 
in  all  things,  to  make  them  conformable  to  the  law,)  then  it  is 
my  will,  that  in  all  events  the  said  will  and  codicils  shall  stand 
valid  as  to  all  other  parts  and  provisions ;  and  that  no  failure  of 


106      THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

any  clause  of  my  will,  or  the  codicils  thereto,  shall  defeat  or  ren 
der  void  any  other  parts  thereof.  And  in  case  of  the  invalidity 
of  any  devise  or  legacy  or  other  provision,  I  direct  that  the  prop 
erty  or  subject  of  such  invalid  disposition  shall  be  given  to  the 
persons  for  whose  benefit  the  same  appears  by  the  expressions 
of  such  defeated  clause ;  as  to  which  .property  or  subject,  I  au 
thorize  my  executors  to  appoint  the  same,  to  said  person  or  per- 
sons,  in  such  estates,  manner,  and  proportions,  as  they  shall 
judge  conformable  to  my  will,  and  as  shall  be  lawful.  And  in 
asmuch  as  I  make  advancements  or  beneficial  provisions  for  per 
sons  or  purposes  provided  for  in  my  will  and  codicils,  it  is  my 
direction  that  such  advancements,  if  charged  in  my  books  of  ac 
count,  shall  be  deemed  so  much  on  account  of  the  provision  in 
my  will  or  codicils  in  favor  of  such  person  or  persons. 

Lastly.  I  appoint  DANIEL  LORD,  Junr.,  to  T)e  an  executor  of 
my  will  with  the  other  executors  thereof,  in  the  same  manner  as 
if  he  had  been  named  therein,  and  I  give  him  all  such  estate,  in 
terest,  authority,  trust,  and  power,  as  is  given  to  my  other  ex 
ecutors. 

I  publish  this  codicil  and  my  said  will  as  hereafter  modified, 
as  together  containing  my  last  will  and  testament;  and  I  have 
signed  and  sealed  the  same  in  the  presence  of  the  subscribing 
witnesses  hereto,  this  nineteenth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight. 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.     [L  s.] 


SECOND   CODICIL. 

I,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  do  make  this  further  codicil  to  my  will, 
bearing  date  July  4th,  1836. 

1st.  In  order  more  comfortably  to  accommodate  my  unfortu 
nate  son  JOHN,  I  have  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  dwelling- 
house  on  Fourteenth  street  in  the  city  of  New-York,  upon  a  cer. 
tain  piece  of  land  which  I  attach  thereto,  bounded  as  follows  : 
beginning  on  the  northerly  side  of  Fourteenth  street,  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  feet  westerly  from  its  intersection  with 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.      107 

the  westerly  side  of  the  Ninth  avenue,  running  thence  northerly 
parallel  with  the  said  avenue  to  the  south  side  of  Fifteenth  street, 
thence  westerly  along  the  same  one  hundred  feet,  then  southerly 
parallel  to  the  line  of  the  said  Ninth  avenue  to  Fourteenth  street, 
then  along  the  same  easterly  one  hundred  feet,  to  the  place  of 
beginning,  which  house  I  intend  to  furnish  and  provide  for  his 
convenience  and  that  of  the  persons  who  from  time  to  time  shall 
take  charge  of  his  personal  comfort.  Now,  therefore,  I  do  hereby 
give  to  my  son  JOHN  the  said  house  and  land  with  the  furniture 
appropriate  thereto,  to  have  and  to  hold  as  long  during  his  life 
as  the  same  shall  be  used  and  kept  for  his  personal  accommoda 
tion  and  convenience,  with  remainder  to  my  daughter  Dorothea, 
to  be  held  by  her  so  long  during  her  life  as  she  shall  use  the 
same  or  the  income  thereof  for  her  own  use,  free  from  all  control 
or  interference  of  her  husband,  and  so  long  as  she  or  her  hus 
band  shall  not  attempt  to  dispose  of  her  interest  therein,  and 
shall  not  permit  the  same  to  be  incumbered  or  taken  under  any 
incumbrance,  but  not  longer  ;  and  in  case,  during  her  life,  she  or 
her  husband,  or  any  claiming  under  or  against  them,  shall  attempt 
to  incumber  or  divert  the  same  from  her  actual  use,  then  I  give 
the  same  to  my  executors,  in  trust,  during  her  life,  to  receive  the 
rents  and  profits  thereof,  and  to  apply  the  same  to  her  use,  for 
which  her  receipts  shall  be  a  full  voucher  to  my  executors.  Af 
ter  her  death  I  give  and  devise  the  said  lands  and  furniture,  one 
equal  half  part  thereof  to  the  then  surviving  children  and  issue 
of  my  daughter  Dorothea,  the  other  half  to  the  then  surviving 
children  and  issue  of  my  son  William,  taking  in  fee  simple, 
and  the  issue  representing  its  parent  deceased. 

Provided,  however,  and  I  hereby  authorize  my  executors,  in  case 
they  shall  think  that  the  comfort  of  my  son  will  be  more  pro 
moted  by  a  change  of  his  residence  or  any  other  appropriation  of 
the  property  for  his  benefit,  to  lease  the  said  premises  forany  law 
ful  term  of  years,  or  to  sell  the  land  and  execute  the  proper  deeds, 
to  convey  the  same  in  fee  simple,  and  to  invest  the  proceeds  from 
a  sale  in  other  lands,  for  his  personal  use  and  accommodation 
during  his  life,  or  in  bonds  secured  by  mortgage  of  real  estate, 
or  public  stocks,  and  so  on,  from  time  to  time,  in  which  case  of 


108      THE  LIFE  OP  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB. 

investment  I  give  the  income,  to  be  applied  by  my  executors,  to 
the  use  of  my  son  John,  for  his  life ;  after  his  death  I  give  the 
said  income  to  my  daughter  Dorothea,  and  my  executors  as 
above  expressed  in  relation  to  the  land;  and  the  capital  on  her 
death  I  give  to  the  then  surviving  children  of  my  said  daughter, 
and  my  sdn  William,  as  above  expressed. 

Item.  The  sum  which  my  executors  are  authorized  under  the 
seventh  item  of  my  will  to  expend  for  my  son  John  is  hereby 
enlarged  to  ten  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

Item.  In  consequence  of  the  lamented  death  of  my  daughter 
Eliza,  the  provisions  of  the  fourth  item  of  my  will  are  defeated, 
and  I  revoke  the  said  item  ;  and  I  give  the  me  of  my  estate  near 
Geneva  to  Mr.  VINCENT  RXTMPFF  for  his  life ;  and  after  him  I  give 
the  said  estate  to  my  granddaughter  Cecilia  L.angdon  and  her 
heirs  forever.  /  give  to  my  daughter  DOROTHEA  the  income  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  deposited  in  the  New-York  Life 
Insurance  and  Trust  Company,  bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent 
per  annum,  to  take  and  receive  the  income  thereof  so  long  dur 
ing  her  life  as  she  or  her  husband,  present  or  future,  or  any  one 
claiming  under  them,  shall  not  attempt  to  encumber,  charge,  or 
assign  the  same,  in  whole  or  in  part ;  and  in  case  of  any  such 
attempt,  then  I  give  the  said  income  to  my  executors,  in  trust, 
during  her  life,  to  apply  the  same  to  her  use,  for  which  her  own 
receipt  shall  be  a  voucher  ;  and  upon  her  death,  I  give  the  said 
capital  sum  to  her  daughters  [see  codicil  of  June  3, 1841]  ELIZA, 
LOUISA,  and  CECILIA,  and  to  her  sons,  WALTER,  WOODBURY,  and 
EUGENE,  and  to  such  of  these  six  children  as  may  survive  me,  to  be 
equally  divided  among  them,  and  to  be  accumulated  as  to  the 
share  of  each  one  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  for  his  or  her 
benefit ;  and  on  their  attaining  that  age  respectively,  to  be  paid 
to  them  by  my  executors ;  and  if  any  of  them  shall  die  before 
that  age,  without  surviving  issue,  his  or  her  share  shall  be  given 
to  the  survivors. 

Also,  I  give  to  the  said  six  children  of  my  daughter  Dorothea, 
or  to  such  of  them  as  may  survive  me,  one  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars  of  the  public  debt  of  the  city  of  New-York,  bearing  five  per 
cent  interest,  usually  called  the  Water  Loan,  to  be  paid  to  each 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  109 

on  attaining  their  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  the  interest  of 
the  shares  of  those  under  that  age  to  be  accumulated  for  their 
benefit  until  that  period ;  and  in  case  any  of  them  shall  die  bo- 
fore  that  age  without  surviving  issue,  then  his  or  her  share  shall 
go  to  the  survivors. 

Item.  /  give  to  my  said  grandchildren,  ELIZA,  LOUISA,  [see 
codicil  of  3d  June,  1841,]  CECILIA,  WALTER,  WOODBURY,  AND 
EUGENE,  and  to  such  of  them  as  may  survive  me,  five  lots  of 
land  fronting  on  the  south  side  of  Grand  street,  between  Lud- 
low  and  Orchard  streets;  and  also  four  lots  of  land  fronting  the 
southerly  sid-e  of  Grand  street,  between  Norfolk  and  Essex 
streets,  in  the  city  of  New-York,  with  their  improvements  respect 
ively  ;  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  my  said  grandchildren, 
in  equal  shares,  for  their  lives  respectively.  And  on  the  death 
of  each,  I  give  the  share  enjoyed  by  such  deceased  to  his  or  her 
issue,  then  surviving,  in  fee  simple ;  to  be  divided  according  to 
the  number  of  his  or  her  children,  and  if  such  deceased  shall 
leave  no  surviving  issue,  then  I  give  the  share  of  such  deceased 
to  the  survivors  of  the  said  six,  and  to  their  heirs  or  assigns  for 
ever.  As  to  which  lots,  I  direct  and  order  that  the  eleventh  ar 
ticle  of  my  will  shall  apply  in  all  respects  in  the  same  manner 
as  if  this  devise  had  been  contained  in  the  body  of  the  said  will. 

Item.  I  give  to  my  niece,  Sophia  Astor,  of  Nienwid,  in  Ger. 
many,  in  addition  to  her  legacy,  an  annuity  of  three  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  to  commence  from  my  decease,  and  paid  up 
to  the  time  of  her  death,  payable  yearly. 

And  this  codicil,  with  my  said  will,  and  the  other  codicils 
thereto,  I  publish,  and  declare  to  contain  my  last  will  and  testa 
ment.  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  subscribed  my  name, 
and  set  my  seal  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses  subscribing  with 
me,  this  ninth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou 
sand  eight  hundred  and  thirty -nine. 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  [L.  s.] 

Published  and  declared  by  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor  to  be  a  codi 
cil  to  his  will,  this  ninth  day  of  January,  A.D.,  1839,  in  presence 
of  us  signing  at  his  request,  and  in  presence  of  him  and  of  each 
other. 


110  THE   LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK. 


THIRD   CODICIL— AUGUST  22,  1839. 

I,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  do  make  this  additional  codicil  to  my 
last  will,  bearing  date  the  fourth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

Desiring  to  render  a  public  benefit  to  the  city  of  New-York, 
and  to  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  useful  knowledge  and 
the  general  good  of  society,  I  do  by  this  codicil  appropriate  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  out  of  my  residuary  estate,  to  the  es 
tablishment  of  a  Public  Library  in  the  city  of  New- York. 

For  this  purpose  I  give  to  my  executors  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  taken  from  my  personal  estate,  or  raised  by  a  sale 
of  parts  of  my  real  estate,  to  be  made  by  my  executors,  with  the 
assent  of  my  son,  William  B.  Astor,  upon  condition  and  to  the 
intent  that  the  said  amount  be  settled,  applied,  and  disposed  of 
as  follows,  namely : 

1st.  In  erecting  of  a  suitable  building  for  a  Public  Library. 

2d.  In  furnishing  and  supplying  the  same  from  time  to  time 
with  books,  maps,  charts,  models,  drawings,  paintings,  engrav 
ings,  casts,  statues,  furniture,  and  other  things,  appertaining  to 
a  library,  for  general  use,  upon  the  most  ample  scale  and  liberal 
character. 

3d.  In  maintaining  and  upholding  the  buildings  and  other 
property,  and  in  defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of  taking  care 
of  the  property,  and  of  the  accommodation  of  persons  consulting 
the  library. 

The  said  sum  shall  be*  payable  one  third  in  the  year  after  my 
decease,  one  third  in  the  year  following,  and  the  residue  in  equal 
sums  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  year  after  my  decease. 

The  said  library  is  to  be  accessible,  at  all  reasonable  hours 
and  times,  for  general  use,  free  of  expense  to  persons  resorting 
thereto,  subject  only  to  such  control  and  regulations  as  the  trus 
tees  from  time  to  time  exercise  and  establish  for  general  conven 
ience. 

The  affairs  of  the  institution  shall  be  conducted  and  directed  by 
eleven,  to  be  from  time  to  time  selected  from  the  different  liberal 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  Ill 

professions  and  employments  in  life  and  the  classes  of  educated 
men.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New-York  during  his  continuance 
in  office,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New- York  during 
his  continuance  in  office,  shall  always  be  trustees.  The  vacan 
cies  in  the  number  of  trustees  occurring  by  death,  resignation, 
incapacity,  or  removal  from  the  State,  shall  be  filled  by  persons 
appointed  by  the  remaining  trustees.  The  acts  of  a  majority  of 
the  trustees  at  a  meeting,  reasonably  notified,  shall  be  valid. 

All  the  property  and  effects  of  the  institution  shall  be  vested 
in  the  said  trustees.  They  shall  have  power  to  direct  the  ex 
penditure  of  the  funds,  the  investment,  safe  keeping,  and  man 
agement  thereof,  and  of  the  property  and  effects  of  the  institu 
tion,  and  also  to  make  such  ordinances  and  regulations  from 
time  to  time  as  they  may  think  proper  for  the  good  order  and 
convenience  of  those  who  may  resort  to  the  library,  or  use  the 
same  ;  and  also  to  appoint,  direct,  control,  and  jemove  the  su 
perintendent  of  the  library,  and  all  librarians  and  others  em 
ployed  about  the  institution  ;  and,  also,  they  shall  have  and  use 
all  powers  and  authority  for  promoting  the  expressed  objects  of 
this  institution,  not  contrary  to  what  is  herein  expressed.  They 
shall  not  receive  any  compensation  for  their  services,  except  that 
if  any  one  of  their  number  shall  at  any  time  be  appointed  super 
intendent,  he  may  receive  compensation  as  such. 

The  trustees  shall  be  subject  to  the  visitation  of  the  proper 
courts  of  justice,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  and  redressing  all 
mismanagement,  waste,  or  breach  of  trust. 

And  I  direct  that  the  said  public  library  be  established  on  my 
land,  at  the  corner  of  Lafayette  Place  and  Art  street,  on  the 
westerly  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  in  the  city  of  New- York :  be 
ginning  on  the  westerly  line  of  Lafayette  Place,  eighty-one  feet ; 
northerly  from  the  corner  of  the  house  in  which  my  daughter 
Dorothea  Langdon  now  resides,  and  running  thence  perpendicu 
lar  to  Lafayette  Place,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  six 
inches,  to  the  alley -way  in  the  rear  ;  thence  along  the  alley-way 
to  Art  street ;  thence  along  Art  street  to  Lafayette  Place,  and 
thence  to  the  place  of  beginning,  with  the  right  and  benefit  of 
way  in  the  alley ;  which  land  I  direct  my  executors  to  convey 


112  THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

to  the  said  trustees,  in  fee  simple,  by  such  proper  assurances  as 
shall  secure  the  land  for  the  purpose  of  the  library,  and  on  con 
dition  to  be  applied  and  used  therefor.  And  inasmuch  as  one 
of  the  lots  so  to  be  conveyed  is  devised  to  the  children  of  Mrs. 
Langdon,  I  order  that  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  be 
paid  to  the  said  devisees  as  a  compensation  for  the  lot.  And  I 
direct  that  all  the  said  land,  hereby  appropriated,  be  valued  at 
forty  thousand  dollars,  and  form  part  of  the  said  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

I  further  direct  that  a  sum  not  exceeding  thousand 

dollars  may  be  expended  in  the  erection  of  the  building  for  the 
library.  One  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  may  be  ex 
pended  in  the  purchase  of  books  and  other  objects  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  library,  and  the  residue  shall  be  invested  as  a 
fund  for  the  maintaining  and  gradually  increasing  of  the  library. 

All  investments  of  the  funds  of  the  institution  shall  be  made 
in  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or  of  the 
States  of  the  Union,  or  of  the  city  of  New- York,  as  long  as  such 
subjects  of  investment  maybe  had,  giving  a  preference  according 
to  the  order  in  which  they  are  named.  And  in  case  the  income 
of  the  fund  shall  at  any  time  exceed  the  amounts  which  the 
trustees  may  find  useful  to  expend,  for  the  purposes  above 
named  and  particularized,  they  may  expend  such  surplus  in 
procuring  public  lectures  to  be  delivered  in  connection  with  the 
library  upon  useful  subjects  of  literature,  philosophy,  science, 
history,  and  the  fine  arts,  or  in  promoting  in  any  other  mode 
the  objects  of  the  institution  as  above  expressed.  I  direct  my 
executors  to  cause  and  procure  the  necessary  legal  assurances  to 
be  made  for  establishing  and  securing  the  application  of  the 
funds  and  property  hereby  appropriated  for  the  purposes  of  these 
presents,  and  in  the  mode  herein  pointed  out ;  and  it  is  my  re 
quest  that  the  trustees  would  apply  to  the  Legislature  of  this 
State  for  such  acts  as  may  fully  secure,  establish,  and  perpetuate 
this  institution,  and  render  its  management  easy,  convenient, 
and  safe,  both  to  themselves  and  the  public.  And  as  this  pro 
perty  is  devoted  wholly  to  public  purposes,  I  trust  that  the 
Legislature  will  *o  far  favor  the  institution  as  to  exempt  its  pro- 


THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN"  JACOB  ASTOR.  113 

perty  from  taxation.  And  as  a  mark  of  my  respect  to  the  fol 
lowing  gentlemen,  I  name  them  to  be  the  first  trustees,  that  is 
to  say  :  The  MAYOR  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW- YORK  and  the  CHAN 
CELLOR  OF  THE  STATE,  for  the  time  being,  in  respect  to  their 
offices;  WASHINGTON  IRVING,  WILLIAM  B.  ASTOR,  DANIEL  LORD, 
JUNIOR,  JAMES  G.  KING,  JOSEPH  G.  COGSWELL,  FITZ-GREENE  HAL- 
LECK,  HENRY  BREVOORT,  JUNIOR,  SAMUEL  B.  RUGGLES,  and  SAMUEL 
WARD,  JUNIOR. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  set  my  hand  and  seal  to  this  codi 
cil,  and  publish  the  same  as  a  codicil  to  my  will,  this  twenty- 
second  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine. 

JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR    [L.  s.] 


FOURTH   CODICIL— OCTOBER  24,  1839. 

A  further  codicil  to  the  will  of  John  Jacob  Astor,  bearing  date 

the  fourth  day  of  July,  A.D.  1836. 

1st.  I  revoke  and  annul  the  legacy  of  fifty  thousand  dollars 
given  to  JOSEPH  ASTOR  and  his  children  or  next  of  kin,  contained 
in  the  eighth  item  of  the  codicil  to  my  will,  which  codicil  bears 
date  the  nineteenth  of  January,  A.D.  1838  ;  and  I  give  to  the  said 
JOSEPH  ASTOR,  for  his  life,  an  annuity  of  three  hundred  pounds 
sterling  per  annum,  to  commence  from  my  decease,  and  to  be 
paid  half  yearly,  and  up  to  his  decease,  provided  that  iny  execu 
tors,  if  they  think  fit,  may  retain  the  same  or  any  payment 
thereof  and  apply  the  same  to  the  use  of  him  or  his  family,  as 
they  may  judge  most  beneficial  to  him. 

2d.  I  revoke  and  annul  the  legacy  of  twenty-Jive  thousand  dol 
lars  given  in  my  will  to  the  Trustees  of  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE,  in 
the  city  of  New- York. 

3d.  I  direct  that  the  commissions  chargeable  by  my  executors 
be  divided  among  such  of  them  as  shall  act  in  the  executorship 
exclusively  of  William  B.  Astor,  who  receives  the  benefit  of  the 
general  residuary  gifts  of  my  will. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  subscribed  this  codicil,  and  do  pub- 


THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 


lish  the  same  as  an  additional  codicil  to  my  last  will  and  testa 
ment,  this  twenty-fourth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine. 

J.  J.  ASTOR. 

Signed  and  declared  by  John  Jacob  Astor  as  a  codicil  to  his 
will,  this  24th  day  of  October,  A.D.  1839,  in  presence  of  us,  sign 
ing  at  his  request,  and  in  his  presence,  as  witnesses. 

LUCY  SEWELL,  Hurlgate,  New-York. 

GEO.  N.  SEWELL. 

Declared  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Astor  to  be  a  codicil  to  his  last  will  and 
testament,  by  him  subscribed  as  such  before  us,  signing  as  wit 
nesses  at  his  request,  1845,  Jan.  11. 

Jos.  G.  COGSWELL,  505  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

CHARLES  J.  MC!LVAINE,  44  Great  Jones  street. 

DANIEL  D.  LORD,  Nineteenth  street. 


A  FURTHER  CODICIL 

To  the  will  of  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  bearing  date  the  fourth  day 
of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-six. 

Having  before  me  the  said  will,  and  the  four  several  codicils 
thereto,  bearing  date  January  19,  1838,  January  9,  August  22, 
and  October  24,  1839,  I  do  make  this  additional  codicil :  that  is 
to  say — 

1st.  I  revoke  so  much  of  the  said  codicil,  dated  in  January, 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  as  gives  to  my  daughter,  Mrs. 
Langdon,  for  her  life,  the  lot  on  Lafayette  Place,  given  in  my 
will  to  Charles  Bristed  for  life  ;  so  that  the  estate  of  Charles 
Bristed  in  the  said  lot,  shall  not  be  subject  to  any  estate  of  my 
daughter  therein. 

And  in  relation  to  the  plan  of  the  lots  on  the  west  side  of  La 
fayette  Place,  by  which  a  gangway  is  established,  as  is  mention- 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOK.  115 

ed  in  the  second  item  of  the  said  codicil,  I  hereby  revoke  so  much 
of  the  said  codicil  as  relates  to  the  establishment  or  enjoyment 
of  the  gangway  therein  mentioned,  and  I  abolish  and  annul  the 
said  gangway,  and  impose  it  as  a  condition  on  my  daughter  and 
grand-children,  holding  lands  adjacent  to  it,  that  such  gangway 
be  wholly  abandoned.  KjPEU' -\*  \  4 jOJOUBQ 

2d.  I  revoke  the  legacy  oifrwo  thousand  dollars  given  in  my 
will  to  the  German  Reformed  Congregation^  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  intending,  during  my  life,  to  apply  that  amount  to  the  re 
ligious  and  moral  welfare  of  Germans  in  some  other  mode. 

3d.  In  relation  to  the  Library  provided  for  in  my  codicil, 
bearing  date  the  twenty-second  day  of  August,  1839,  I  have  con 
cluded  to  change  the  site  thereof,  and  I  therefore  direct  that  the 
land  in  that  codicil,  appropriated  for  this  purpose,  be  discharged 
therefrom,  and  so  much  of  the  said  codicil  as  appropriates  the 
site  of  the  said  library,  and  the  compensation  to  be  paid  for  it, 
is  hereby  revoked.  And  instead  thereof,  /  allow  the  building 
for  the  said  Library  to  be  erected  on  the  southerly  side  of  Astor 
Place,  (formerly  Art  street,)  between  Lafayette  Place  and  Broad 
way,  on  the  land  described  as  follows  :  Beginning  on  the  south 
erly  side  of  Astor  Place,  at  a  point  distant  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  feet  westerly  from  the  westerly  corner  of  Astor  Place  and 
Lafayette  Place ;  thence  running  westerly  along  Astor  Place, 
sixty-five  feet,  thence  in  a  line  perpendicular  to  Astor  Place,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  nine  inches,  to  the  northerly  side 
of  a  lot  given  to  my  daughter,  Mrs.  Langdon  ;  thence  along  the 
same  northerly  and  easterly,  in  a  line  perpendicular  to  the  west 
erly  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  fifty -seven  feet ;  thence  along  the 
rear  of  the  lot  given  to  Charles  Bristed,  and  in  that  direction, 
parallel  with  the  westerly  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  thirty-one  feet 
one  inch  ;  thence  in  a  line  perpendicular  to  the  southerly  side  of 
Astor  Place,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  to  the  place  of 
beginning ;  which  site  I  direct  my  executors  to  convey  to  the 
trustees  of  the  said  library,  instead  of  the  site  in  the  said  codicil 
expressed,  and  I  estimate  the  site  now  above  described,  at  thir 
ty-five  thousand  dollars.  But  if  the  trustees  of  the  said  library 
shall,  before  commencing  the  building,  think  a  site  on  the  easterly 


116      THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

side  of  Lafayette  Place  preferable,  I  authorize  my  executors,  in 
stead  of  the  site  aforesaid,  to  convey  to  the  trustees  of  the  libra 
ry,  as  a  site  therefor,  so  much  land  on  the  easterly  side  of  La 
fayette  Place  as  shall  be  sixty-five  feet  in  front,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  deep,  to  be  located  out  of  my  lands  there,  by  the 
said  trustees ;  and  direct  that  the  site  so  selected  be  fairly  and 
justly  valued  by  my  executors,  and  the  amount  of  such  valua 
tion  to  be  apportioned  among  the  devises  of  the  lands  out  of 
which  the  selection  shall  be  made,  and  to  be  held  and  disposed 
of  as  the  land  was,  both  as  to  the  capital  and  income. 

I  direct  that  the  sum  to  be  appropriated  for  erecting  the  library 
building  shall  not  exceed  seventy-Jive  thousand  dollars. 

And  I  also  allow  that  the  funds  of  the  said  library  may  in  the 
discretion  of  the  trustees  be  invested  in  bonds  secured  by  mort 
gage  of  improved  real  estate,  as  well  as  in  the  stocks  enumerated 
in  the  codicil  establishing  such  library. 

4th.  I  give  unto  my  grand-children  herein  next  named,  the 
following  lots  of  land  on  Lafayette  Place,  of  which  I  have  caused 
a  map  to  be  made,  and  the  lots  to  be  numbered  from  one  to 
seven,  each  lot  being  twenty-seven  feet  in  width  on  Lafayette 
Place,  and  to  be  bounded  by  lines  perpendicularly  thereto,  and 
extending  to  the  above  described  site  for  the  library,  and  if  that 
shall  be  located  on  the  easterly  side  of  Lafayette  Place,  then  ex 
tending  to  the  rear  of  my  lands  there,  namely  :  To  my  grand 
son,  WILLIAM  ASTOR,  I  give  the  southernmost  lot,  next  to  that  of 
Charles  Bristed,  which  lot  now  given  is  number  two  ;  to  JOHN 
JACOB  ASTOR,  I  give  the  next  lot  north,  being  number  three  ;  to 
LOUISA  D.  LANGDON,  [see  codicil,  June,  1841,]  the  lot  next  north, 
being  number  four ;  to  ELIZA  LANGDON,  the  lot  next  north,  being 
number  five  ;  and  to  my  daughter,  Mrs.  LANGDON,  I  give  the  two 
lots  six  and  seven,  the  latter  being  a  corner  lot  forty  feet  front 
and  narrowing  to  the  rear ;  to  have  and  to  hold  to  them  respect 
ively,  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  ;  Provided,  however, 
and  on  condition  that  no  buildings  be  erected  on  the  said  lots 
(including  also  the  lot  of  Charles  Bristed)  but  dwelling-houses 
at  least  three  stories  high  and  covering  the  full  front  of  the  lots, 
and  the  necessary  offices  on  the  rears  of  the  lots.  Provided, 


THE   LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOE.  117 

also,  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  my  executors  at  any  time  during 
the  life  of  the  devisee,  to  make  and  execute  a  settlement  of  the 
lots  given  to  the  said  ladies,  securjng  the  enjoyment  to  them,  as 
a  separate  estate  of  the  said  lots  during  life,  and  a  power  of  giv 
ing  the  same  as  they  please  among  their  issue,  brothers  and  sis 
ters,  and  their  issue,  such  power  to  be  discretionary  with  my 
executors ;  with  a  power  to  the  said  ladies  respectively  of  leas 
ing  for  terms  of  years  allowed  by  law ;  and  I  authorize  my  ex 
ecutors,  at  the  request  of  any  of  the  said  grand-children,  (includ 
ing  Charles  Bristed  and  his  lot,)  to  lay  out  any  part  of  the  per 
sonal  estate  given  to  them  or  to  their  use,  respectively,  in  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  dwelling-house  and  its  appurtenances  on 
the  lot  so  given  fronting  on  Lafayette  Place. 

5th.  I  give  to  my  friend  FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK,  an  annuity  of 
two  hundred  dollars,  commencing  at  my  decease,  and  payable 
half-yearly  for  his  life,  to  be  secured  by  setting  apart  so  much 
of  my  personal  estate  as  may  be  necessary  ;  which  I  intend  as  a 
mark  of  regard  for  Mr.  Halleck. 

6th.  I  direct  my  executors  to  apply  fifty  thousand  dollars  to 
the  use  of  the  poor  of  Waldorp,  near  Heidelberg,  in  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Baden,  by  the  establishment  of  some  provision  for  the 
sick  or  disabled,  or  the  education  and  improvement  of  the  young 
who  may  be  in  a  condition  to  need  the  aid  of  such  fund  ;  re 
questing  my  executors  to  consult  on  this  subject  my  esteemed 
friend,  Mr.  Vincent  Rumpff,  and  to  procure  the  appointment  or 
establishment  of  such  trust  or  legal  body,  from  the  authorities 
and  government  of  the  place,  as  may  be  requisite  or  deemed  use 
ful  by  my  executors. 

7th.  I  reduce  the  legacy  bequeathed  to  the  German  Society  of 
New-York,  from  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  of  which  I  have  already  advanced  them  fifteen  thousand 
six  hundred  and  ninety -seven  dollars  fifty  cents,  to  be  deducted 
therefor,  from  the  said  last  mentioned  sum.  Also,  I  reduce  the 
legacy  which  my  niece,  Mrs.  MARY  REYNELL,  wife  of  George 
Reynell,  would  have  taken  under  the  first  codicil  to  my  will,  to 
fifteen  thousand  dollars.  I  reduce  the  legacy  of  my  niece,  Mrs. 


118  THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

SARAH  OXENHAM,  given  in  the  said  codicil,  from  thirty  thousand 
to  twenty  thousand  dollars.  ^ 

8th.  I  appoint  my  grandson,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  to  be  an  ex 
ecutor  of  my  will  with  the  other  executors  thereof,  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  he  had  been  named  therein ;  and  I  give  him  all 
such  estate,  interest,  authority,  trust,  and  power,  as  is  given  to 
my  other  executors.  And  I  apply  the  provisions  of  the  eleventh 
item  of  my  will  to  all  my  codicils,  so  far  as  the  same  can  be  ap 
plied  to  the  subjects  thereof. 

Last.  I  recognize  and  publish  anew  the  said  will  and  several 
codicils,  as  together  with  this  codicil,  forming  my  last  will  and 
testament. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal, 
this  third  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-one,  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses 
subscribing  with  me. 

J.  J.  ASTOR.     [L.  s.J 


SIXTH  CODICIL. 

A  further  codicil  to  the  will  of  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  dated  July 

4,  1836. 

1st.  As  to  all  such  shares,  estate,  and  interest  in  land  (except 
the  lot  on  the  west  side  of  Lafayette  place,  mentioned  beneath) 
as  are  in  my  will  or  in  any  codicil  thereto,  given  on  my  decease 
to  Louisa,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Dorothea  Langdon,  or  to  the  issue 
of  the  said  Louisa,  I  give  one  half  thereof  to  the  other  children 
of  my  daughter  Dorothea,  to  be  taken  and  held  as  an  increase 
of  the  shares  or  sums  given  to  them  and  their  issue  in  the  same 
property ;  the  other  half  I  give  to  my  executors  in  trust,  to  re 
ceive  the  rents,  issues,  and  profits  thereof,  for  the  life  of  the  said 
Louisa,  and  to  apply  the  same  to  her  use,  clear  of  any  control, 
debts,  or  right  of  her  husband  thereto;  and  after  her  death  I 
give  the  same  to  her  surviving  children ;  or  if  she  leave  none,  to 
her  surviving  brothers  and  sisters  or  their  issue. 

2d.  As  to  all  estates,  rights,  and  interests  in  lands,  stocks,  per- 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN"  JACOB  ASTOR.  119 

st 

sonal  effects,  or  money,  to  which  the  said  Louisa  or  her  issue 
would  have  been  entitled,  under  my  will  or  any  codicil  thereto, 
after  the  death  of  her  mother,  brothers,  or  sisters,  I  give  the  same 
to  her  brothers  and  sisters  and  their  issue,  as  an  increase  of  their 
respective  shares  or  interests,  in  the  same  property. 

3d.  As  to  the  two  legacies  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
each,  and  the  share  of  the  Water  stock,  to  which  the  said  Louisa 
would  have  been  entitled  under  my  will  and  a  codicil  thereto,  I 
revoke  the  two  legacies  entirely  ;  I  give  the  income  of  her  share 
.of  stock  to  my  daughter  Dorothea  for  life ;  and  on  her  death  I 
give  the  capital  to  her  other  children  and  their  issue  in  case  of 
their  decease. 

4th.  As  to  the  lot  on  the  westerly  side  of  Lafayette  place, 
given  to  the  said  Louisa  in  a  codicil  to  my  will,  I  give  the  same 
to  Cecilia  Langdon,  to  be  had  and  holden  as  if  her  name  had 
been  written  in  the  devise  thereof,  instead  of  Louisa,  with  every 
advantage,  power  and  benefit,  and  subject  to  every  condition^ 
power,  and  limitation  therein  contained. 

5th.  I  expressly  authorize  my  daughter  Dorothea  Langdon,  by 
deed  or  will,  to  appoint  or  give  to  the  said  Louisa  and  her  issue, 
or  to  her  or  their  use,  any  part,  not  exceeding  in  value  one  half 
of  the  real  or  personal  estate  by  this  codicil  taken  from  Louisa 
and  given  to  others. 

6th.  I  direct  and  devise  that  CHARLES  BRISTED  be  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  devise  and  legacy  for  a  public  library,  provided 
for  in  former  codicils  to  my  will,  and  I  give  him  the  said  estate, 
interest,  and  power,  as  if  he  were  orignally  named  in  such  devise 
and  legacy,' 

7th.  Considering  the  advantages  which  Mr.  Vincent  Rumpff 
has  received  from  the  marriage  settlement  of  my  daughter,  I 
revoke  the  devise  to  him,  for  his  life,  of  my  estate  near  Geneva. 
But  if  an  accounting  shall  take  place  between  us  touching  the 
property  in  the  said  settlement  after  this  date,  and  within  two 
years,  and  the  balance  of  that  account  shall  be  paid,  then  I  re 
new  such  devise  to  him  for  life  of  the  estate  near  Geneva. 

In  relation  to  the  same  estate  which  I  give  to  the  said  Cecilia, 
subject  to  said  life  estate  to  Mr.  Rumpff,  I  furthermore  devise 


120      THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

that  if  she  should  depart  this  life  before  attaining  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  then  I  give  the  said  estate  to  her  issue  sur 
viving  her;  and  if  she  shall  have  none  surviving,  then  I  give 
the  same  to  her  surviving  brothers  and  sisters  and  their  heirs 
and  assigns  forever. 

Last.  I  publish  this  as  a  codicil  to  my  will,  and  as  altering 
and  revoking  the  same  and  the  codicils  thereto,  so  far  as  a  differ 
ent  disposition  is  made  by  the  present  codicil. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal 
this  third  day  of  June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-one. 

J.  J.  ASTOR.  [L.S.] 


SEVENTH    CODICIL. 

I,  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  of  the  city  of  New- York,  do  make  this 
additional  codicil  to  my  will,  bearing  date  July  4th,  1836. 

In  order  to  make  a  provision  for  Mr.  WALTER  LANGDON,  after 
the  decease  of  my  daughter,  his  wife,  in  case  he  should  survive 
her,  I  do  hereby  direct  that  an  annual  sum  of  five  thousand  dol 
lars  be  appropriated  to  his  use,  from  the  rents  and  income  of  my 
lands  in  the  city  of  New-York,  bounded  by  Hudson  River,  Charl- 
ton,  Morton,  and  Greenwich  streets;  such  annual  provision  to 
commence  from  the  death  of  my  daughter,  to  be  paid  quarterly, 
and  to  continue  during  the  life  of  the  said  Walter  Langdon. 
And  I  authorize,  empower,  and  direct  my  executors  to  select 
from  the  said  lands  such  as  will,  in  their  judgment,  suffice  to 
secure  the  said  annual  sum,  and  to  settle  the  same,  by  such  con 
veyance,  in  trust  or  otherwise,  as  will  secure  the  same  to  the 
use  of  the  said  Walter  Langdon.  In  witness  whereof  I  have 
hereunto  set  my  hand,  this  fifteenth  day  of  December,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-two. 

J.  J.  ASTOR.  [L.S.] 


THE  LIFE   OF  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  121 

EIGHTH    CODICIL. 

A  further  codicil  to  the  will  of  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  bearing 
date  July  4,  1836. 

Whereas,- in  my  will  I  charged  upon  the  residuary  estate  de 
vised  to  my  son,  William  B.  Astor,  in  the  tenth  item  of  my  will, 
portions  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  settled  upon 
each  of  his  daughters  and  her  issue,,  in  such  manner  as  he  might 
think  fit,  subject  to  the  conditions  therein  expressed,  which  por 
tions  were  to  be  set  apart  out  of  the  real  estate  devised  to  him, 
and  which,  when  set  apart,  were  not  to  form  any  incumbrance 
upon  the  residue,  and,  in  case  of  his  leaving  no  appointment,  the 
said  portions  were  to  be  considered  as  part  of  his  daughters' 
shares  on  the  division  of  the  estate  thereby  devised  among  his 
children  ;  and  whereas,  in  the  tenth  item  of  a  codicil  to  my  said 
will  (such  codicil  bearing  date  January  19,  1838)  I  directed  that 
such  portions  should  be  settled  on  them  on  their  respectively 
attaining  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  or  their  marriage  :  Now, 
thinking  it  best  for  my  said  grand-daughters,  and  for  other  rea 
sons  expedient,  I  do  hereby  declare,  direct,  and  will,  that  the 
said  will  and  codicil,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  said  portions  of  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  be  modified  and  so  far  revoked,  so 
that  it  shall  be  wholly  discretionary  with  my  said  son  William 
B.  Astor,  to  give  or  appoint  such  portions  or  not ;  and  if  he  shall 
choose  to  appoint  the  same,  it  shall  be  discretionary  with  him 
to  appoint  the  same  in  such  manner  and  on  such  trusts  and  con 
ditions  as  he  may  think  fit ;  and  unless  he  shall  choose  to  ap 
point  such  portions  to  his  daughters  and  their  issue,  they  shall 
not  be  charges  on  my  estate,  or  on  the  estate  devised  to  my  son, 
in  any  manner  whatever.  And  I  revoke  so  much  of  my  said 
will,  and  of  my  codicil  thereto,  as  is  contrary  or  repugnant  to 
this  present  codicil. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  and 
have  published  this  as  a  codicil  to  my  will,  this  twenty-second 
day  of  December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-three,  in  the  presence  of  Joseph  G.  Cogs 
well,  Lucy  Sewell,  and  William  W.  Bruce,  witnesses  subscribing 
with  me.  J.  J.  ASTOR.  [L.S.] 


NINETEEN     MONTHS 


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